It's only just beginning
by charming-witch
Summary: This story starts after the Stargate Atlantis season finale. There will be new enemies and new adventures, as well as new characters from other fandoms - Crossover with JAG, Primeval, Animorphs, Angel & Doctor Who/Torchwood - J/S, D/V, J/E, 10/R, ...
1. Chapter 1

This is the first story in years that I'm writing alone. It means I'm going to have to write characters I never wrote before and I hope I'll manage to keep them in character.

The story will be written from different points of view. This way thoughts can be included for several characters and a better inside into the character is possible.

But as I'm writing the story alone there will be no role-play format like in my previous stories, which should make it easier for readers. At least that's what I hope. ;-)

I'm german and my English still isn't and probably never will be perfect. I hope I don't make too many mistakes. Feel free to point out errors so I can learn and improve.

I don't have a beta reader. I wish I did, but until I find one you'll have to deal with my mistakes. Sorry!

That said, would anyone like to become my beta reader? I'd really appreciate it!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or fandoms. I wish I did… *g* I don't make any money with this! I'm just writing the story for fun and hope someone else will enjoy it, too.

**About the story****:**

It is set in the Stargate universe, but characters from other fandoms will be included.

**fandoms & characters:**

Some characters will be more important than _others_. Characters in ( ) will probably not have bigger plotlines.

For those interested I will provide links to the characters profiles on Wikipedia. This might help if you don't know a fandom or character. But you should be able to get to know all characters during the story.

Angel:

Winifred "Fred" Burkle: .org/wiki/Fred_Burkle

She will come to Atlantis shortly before she died in Angel season 5.

Animorphs:

Captain Rachel Berenson: .org/wiki/Rachel_(Animorphs)

She is an AU version of the character. She didn't really die like in the books. When the Ellimist came to her and explained everything he offered Rachel a reward. She could live in another reality that was similar to her own, but where the Yeerks don't exist. Rachel took the deal. She still remembers her life, but in addition also has memories of a normal life in this reality. Those memories however seem surreal, because she knows she didn't actually live that life.

After finishing high school Rachel joined the Marine Corps. She is 27 now.

I haven't read the Ellimist Chronicles yet, so nothing of that is relevant in my story.

So you can imagine what Rachel looks like, here is what I picture her to look like: . Rachel is supposed to look like a model, so I picked the Germany's Next Topmodel candidate Sarah Knappik. ;-)

Doctor Who/Torchwood:

Captain Jack Harkness: .org/wiki/Jack_Harkness

Dr. Martha Jones: .org/wiki/Martha_Jones

_Donna Noble: __.org/wiki/Donna_Noble_

_Mickey Smith__: .org/wiki/Mickey_Smith_

_Sally Sparrow__: .org/wiki/Sally_sparrow_

_the __tenth doctor: .org/wiki/Doctor_Who#The_Doctor_

_Rose Tyler__: .org/wiki/Rose_Tyler_

The characters will all come from before "turn left" (Doctor Who episode 4.11) and it will be AU after that. Rose and Mickey have not yet returned from the alternate reality. Donna is still travelling with the doctor. They have picked up Sally Sparrow as a new companion.

Martha Jones stopped working for UNIT and joined the Stargate program.

Jack Harkness joins the story from after Torchwood season 2.

JAG:

_Ensign Mattie Grace Johnson__: .org/wiki/Characters_of_JAG#Mattie_Grace_Johnson_

Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie: .org/wiki/Sarah_MacKenzie

Captain Harmon Rabb: .org/wiki/Harmon_Rabb

The characters all come from after the series. Harm 'won' when they threw the coin, so he took the job in London and Mac went with him. They got married.

Mac became a civilian lawyer. Mattie went with them to London and recovered from her accident. After finishing school she joined the Navy.

Primeval:

Captain Jason Becker: .org/wiki/Captain_Becker

Captain Becker doesn't have a first name in the series so far, so I chose one. He comes from after season 3.

Stephen Hart: .org/wiki/Stephen_Hart_(Primeval)#Stephen_Hart

Stephen comes from the end of season 2, just before he died in the show.

Stargate:

.org/wiki/List_of_Stargate_SG-1_characters

Colonel Samantha Carter

_Lieutenant Cassandra Fraser_

Dr. Daniel Jackson

Dr. Carolyn Lam

Vala Mal Doran

Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell

Major General Jack O'Neill

_Colonel Jack O'Neill (the clone)_

_Jonas Quinn_

_Teal'c_

Stargate Atlantis: .org/wiki/List_of_Stargate_Atlantis_characters#Stargate_crossover_characters

_Amelia Banks_

_Dr. Carson Beckett (the clone)_

_Lieutenant__ Laura Cadman_

(Colonel Steven Caldwell)

Colonel Samantha Carter

_Ronon Dex_

_Teyla Emmagan (+ her son Torren John Emmagan)_

_Lieutenant__ Aiden Ford_

_Dr. Jennifer Keller_

_Major Evan Lorne_

_Dr. Rodney McKay_

(Jeannie Miller + family)

Lt. Colonel John Sheppard

Sheila Trebal (Auroras 1st officer)

Dr. Elizabeth Weir

(Dr. Radek Zelenka)

Alright, that should be everyone for now. I might add more characters later.

**pairing****s:**

I'm not entirely sure on all pairings yet. I have some ideas, but am open to others, too. So, if you have any suggestions now or later, please feel free to let me know. You might be lucky and get your "wish-couple". *g*

The following characters will definitely end up together:

Jack O'Neill & Sam Carter

John Sheppard & Elizabeth Weir

Daniel Jackson & Vala Mal Doran

Cameron Mitchell & Sheila Trebal

The doctor & Rose Tyler

Harm Rabb & Mac

The following couples are possible:

Jack Harkness & Martha Jones, unless I decide to bring Gwen Cooper in and pair her with Jack like I usually do

Mickey Smith & Sally Sparrow or Mickey Smith & Martha Jones if I decide against Jack Harkness & Martha Jones

Ronon Dex & Amelia Banks, Rodney McKay & Jennifer Keller, Teyla Emmagan & Jonas Quinn – I usually shipped Rodney & Cadman as well as Teyla and Ronon if my stories started earlier in the Stargate timelines. I kind of still want to do them, but am not sure how to get there easily, as I like staying as canon as possible and do like the canon pairings as well. So, any input here would be greatly appreciated.

Jack O'Neill (clone) & Cassie as well as Aiden Ford & Mattie Johnson. But I might switch between those pairings.

Carson Beckett & Carolyn Lam

Major Lorne & Fred Burkle

Teal'c & Donna Noble – not sure if that'd work, but it might be fun. Donna does like guys who don't talk much anyway, and Teal'c can be quiet. ;-)

Captain Becker & Laura Cadman as well as Stephen Hart & Rachel Berenson. I might switch between them or change it all if Cadman decides she does want Rodney too badly.

Well, you see I like pairing most characters off. I want to see them happy. But there usually is some drama first. Just fluff isn't my thing.

Anyway, enough with all the rambling! Here we finally go….

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day**** 1: at the SGC****:**

Sirens blared as General Hank Landry entered the control room.

_Unauthorized off-world activation._

Landry frowned. "There are no teams off-world anymore", he said as the shield closed and they all looked through the glass window down into the gate room. It was late and SG-5 had just returned about 10 minutes ago. They were the last team to get home.

"No identification code transmitted", the technician on duty said.

So it wasn't one of their allies trying to contact them, Landry thought.

"Any transmissions?"

"No, nothing, sir."

They then heard a noise. Something hit the shield from the other side.

Everyone waited in anticipation. Then whatever hit the shield exploded.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day**** 1: Atlantis****:**

Teyla was standing on a balcony, Torren in her arms. Her son had just fallen asleep and she used the quiet to look at the beautiful city she could see in the distance. There were millions of lights glowing in the darkness, in all kinds of colours.

For most people from her galaxy a city like this was unthinkable. But here, in this galaxy, civilisations were able to grow without being culled and having their technical progress destroyed by the Wraith.

They were on earth for over a month now and Teyla had even been on the mainland twice, but it still seemed so surreal and strange. She hoped that one day the people back in Pegasus would be as lucky as this planet.

Teyla was just about to turn around and head to her room when the cities alarm system went off. Startled Teyla began to rush towards the control room. An alarm going off was nothing unusual in Atlantis, but nothing had happened since they landed on earth. Teyla had started to feel safe on the planet.

A few minutes later she arrived in the control room and went over to Colonel Sheppard and Rodney.

"What is happening?", she asked.

"I'm not entirely sure yet", Rodney snapped while hovering over some readings.

"We just arrived", John told her looking a little worried.

The colour drained from Rodney's face.

"What is it?", John wanted to know as Ronon stepped next to him. Torren started to cry in Teylas arms, not liking the alarm at all.

Rodney ignored John and pressed a few buttons. "Stargate Command, this is Atlantis. Can you hear me?", he asked and waited. Nothing. "Is anyone there?", Rodney pressed. There was only silence.

"Oh god", Rodney muttered.

"What is it?", John demanded. "Rodney?" His voice sounded agitated and worried.

Rodney slowly turned to face them. "They… I think they are… gone", he stammered.

"What?", John and Ronon asked at the same time.

"What do you mean, gone?", John clarified when Rodney didn't answer right away.

"There was a big explosion. Atlantis picked it up and the alarm went off. The source is here…" He pressed another button and a map appeared on a big screen. A red x marked the location of the explosion. It was Cheyenne Mountain.

"Ok, something exploded at the SGC. That doesn't mean they are gone… like in… _gone_", John stated hoping that it wasn't that bad. A lot of things had exploded in Atlantis for example and the city was still there.

"Stargate Command, this is Sheppard. Do you read?", he asked trying to contact the SGC again. They couldn't be gone!

Noone replied.

"I don't think there is much left", Rodney stammered after checking something on his laptop. "The explosion was enormous."

"Crap", John muttered.

"Let's go", he said and turned around.

"What? Where?", Rodney muttered, still looking rather pale.

"The jumper bay", John stated in a matter of fact voice.

"Try to figure out what happened, Rodney. And send other teams to the jumper bay, too. We need to get to the SGC ASAP."

"Okay", Rodney answered.

"And turn the damn alarm off." John was feeling agitated enough. The blaring alarm was only making it worse.

He walked side by side with Ronon. "You better stay here, Teyla", he then said, noticing that she followed. They had no idea what they were going into. There might be more explosions and nothing useful she could do. She should stay with Torren. And someone had to stay back and take command. Woolsey had been at the SGC, talking about the future of the Stargate program with General Landry and the IOA for the past days. John really hoped the man had been staying at a hotel nearby and not used one of the SGC's sleeping quarters.

Teyla was about to protest when she remembered that Woolsey wasn't there and that John had just ordered Rodney to send all teams to the SGC. Someone had to stay back. She nodded and went to find someone to babysit Torren.

As John and Ronon left the control room they ran into Major Lorne and several marines. John gestured for them to join him and they followed, just as the alarm turned off and Rodney's voice boomed over the cities communication system.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day**** 3: London****:**

Major General Jack O'Neill shivered slightly as he walked towards a house in London. Everything looked the same, each and every single house on the street. How did anyone find their own home in a place like this?

And why wasn't he wearing something warmer? He should have known that it was much colder in London than in California, where he was about 15 minutes ago. The Daedalus had beamed him directly from Atlantis to London, where he was going to start recruiting.

He sighed. He thought he left the Stargate program behind him. He really did. But 2 days ago everything had changed. After a huge explosion Cheyenne Mountain was gone. Noone had survived. Not even a single person that had been at Stargate Command! His heart ached when he thought of all the people that were inside. He knew most of them, even called some of them friends. They were all dead now.

Jack had been at home in bed, watching TV, enjoying his second week of being retired – again – when the call came. Now he was back – again. How many times had he tried to retire already? He really should know better by now. Retiring just wasn't a good idea. Something bad happened every time! Maybe it was a cosmic joke or a way of telling him that he wasn't done. He didn't know and probably didn't want to anyway.

After checking that he really was infront of the right house Jack walked towards it. This was his first stop. He was in charge of the Stargate program once more and they needed new personnel badly. There were several people eager to join – even though they didn't have a clue as to what they signed up for yet. But Jack had decided that he only wanted the best. He had made a list of people that friends had recommended and they would get a personal invitation to join. First he however was going to invite someone he knew himself.

Standing infront of the door Jack rang the bell and waited, rubbing his hands for warmth. It didn't take long and the door opened. He grinned, pushing away all the sad thoughts.

Sarah MacKenzie opened the door and stared at the man on the other side. She hadn't seen him in years and he had aged a lot, his hair completely grey by now. But she still recognized him. He was wearing a uniform that showed him as a Major General with the US Air Force.

"Still not retired then", she said and returned his grin.

"Not for a lack of trying on my part, believe me", Jack answered and his grin disappeared slightly.

"You going to invite me in?", he then quickly added. "It's freezing here!"

"Of course, sir", Mac said chuckling slightly and stepped aside to let him enter. "There is such a thing as cloaks, you know", she teased.

"Didn't need one until about 15 minutes ago", Jack replied while following Mac into the living room.

Mac raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment. She was wondering why Jack was visiting her now. He was an old friend of her uncle and she had seen him a lot while growing up. But it had been years now since they last spoke.

"You want something to drink?", she asked, trying to be nice even though she was really curious what this was about.

"No, thank you", Jack replied and stopped looking around to sit down on the couch.

"Nice place", he commented.

Mac nodded but didn't say anything about it. She had the feeling that Jack wasn't here for small talk.

"So, what brings you here?", she asked when he didn't say anything else.

"What, can't I just visit an old friend without a reason?", he replied with a smirk.

"Jack, I haven't seen you in almost 13 years." They didn't have much contact after she joined the military, but saw eachother at family reunions regularly. Then he suddenly stopped showing up. He probably still saw her uncle from time to time, but she couldn't be sure about that.

"Yeah, right. I've been… busy."

"Saving the world, I know", she said laughing slightly. It was her uncle's favourite excuse. Jack probably used the same.

"Actually… yes, you could say that." He grinned, but then turned serious again.

For a moment Mac thought he looked tired and sad. Something must have happened. Something bad.

"What is it?", she asked. "Did something happen? Does it involve my uncle?" When had she last heard from him? About 2 weeks ago, she thought. 2 weeks were a long time. A lot could happen in 2 weeks!

Jack stared at her. She knew him well, even after such a long time. "O'Hara is fine. At least he was when we talked about you on the phone yesterday."

Mac let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm here to offer you a job."

Mac stared at Jack now. He was what? "A job? You do know I left the military, right?" Harm had 'won' when they threw the coin. He got the promotion to Captain and they moved to London. She left the military and became a civilian lawyer. And they got married.

"And besides, I'm a marine." She still felt like one anyway. "You're Air Force."

Jack smirked. "Who cares about something like that?" Yes, the different military branches didn't always get along, but who cared about something like that on a different planet? They were all Americans, or better they were all simply Humans out there.

"The job I'm offering is kind of a matter of international security."

Mac stared at him again. She never knew exactly what Jack did for the Air Force. Her uncle often joked that it was all top secret and classified. Maybe he wasn't joking after all.

You didn't get 2 stars for sitting behind a desk and doing nothing after all, she thought as she glanced at Jacks uniform.

"What kind of job is it exactly?", she asked curiously.

"That's classified", he confirmed. "I can't tell you unless you are interested and signed a non-disclosure agreement. And you'd have to pass some tests, which I'm sure you'd have no difficulties with." He sounded really confident, which was nice. It had been 4 years since Mac left the Marine Corps and by now she wasn't sure about her own abilities any more. Of course she trained and tried to keep up. But it wasn't that easy when you were a civilian. At least it felt that way. Maybe Jack needed a lawyer? But it didn't really sound that way. It sounded like it was way more… complicated than that.

"So I'm supposed to get back on active duty, leave everything behind and join your secret operation without even knowing what it's about?" It was more a statement than a question. But to her it was a really big question. She had no clue what exactly Jack was offering. And she liked her life with Harm. They were happy together. All the fears they had had before getting together were stupid. She couldn't imagine a life without him anymore. And he had 'won'. Fate had decided that they should come to London. But all of that didn't change the fact that she missed the Marine Corps. She loved the military and she was a good marine.

"Well…yes", Jack answered, grinning again. "We need people like you, Mac. I need people like you, someone I can trust." They still weren't completely sure who was responsible for the explosion at the SGC. But he definitely wasn't willing to just accept anyone that was sent to the SG program as loyal. This could be a plot to get spies in. The more people Jack picked himself the better he would feel.

"And come on, you can't tell me that you like this life", he added.

"Excuse me?", Mac snapped. "This is the life I chose!" Or as close to it as she could get. If things had gone her way she would still be a marine. But one of them had to give up their career and fate chose her.

"Right", Jack muttered. "You could be doing so much more, Mac. And trust me, this is the opportunity of a lifetime! I can't tell you what exactly it's all about right now, but it's… amazing." Part of him wasn't sure if amazing was the right word. The life he was leading wasn't always fun. It wasn't all amazing. It was a hard life as well. The past days had shown exactly that. But if he could do it all over again he would join the SGC again.

"You sure about that?", Mac asked noticing his hesitation.

Damn, she knew him well. "Yes. Yes, I am sure. The things I know… the things I've seen. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Mac sighed. She still didn't know what kind of job it was, but somehow she wanted it. In this moment it stood for all her longing to be a marine again. But what about Harm? Would he come with her? Would he even be allowed to? At least Mattie had joined the Navy already and was gone anyway. So that wasn't a problem.

"What about my husband?", Mac asked.

"He could relocate with you. I'm sure he'd find a job in California."

"So the job is in California?"

"Well, mostly", Jack said, not really knowing how to put it all without giving away too much.

"You'd go on missions to – well, somewhere else - but you'd mainly be stationed in California – for now." There was no way of telling if Atlantis would stay in the Milky Way forever, but with the current situation and as they still didn't have more ZPM's Atlantis was stuck on earth. It was also the way he liked it, especially since Area 51 and the chair had been destroyed by the Wraith.

That sounded interesting. Mac liked being a lawyer, but she had been nothing but a lawyer for almost 4 years now. And she missed America. London was fine, but she had started to feel a bit tired of it sometimes. She was ready to go home.

"We could do with some legal advice from time to time as well", Jack then added. Especially since Atlantis was located in the Pacific Ocean near San Francisco and the whole area needed to be kept clear by the Navy.

When Mac smiled Jack knew he had her. "Why don't you think about it for a bit and talk to your husband." Jack offered.

"Sounds good."

Jack fished a calling card out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Call me tomorrow and we can make arrangements."

"Tomorrow?", Mac asked with a frown. So much for having time to think about it.

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

More will come soon. I hope you like the story already. Sorry for killing off some characters. I don't have anything against them, but someone had to die to make things work the way I want them to.


	2. Chapter 2

**Day**** 6: Atlantis****:**

Jack sat on a bench on one of Atlantis balconies. The past days had been a rollercoaster. As if losing so many of his friends and co-workers wasn't enough, no, now everything and everyone seemed to need his attention. Was noone able to do anything without him?

When everyone was busy talking to eachother for a second Jack had used the opportunity to sneak away. He needed a break, even if it was just for 5 minutes.

Breathing in deeply Jack enjoyed the smell of the ocean and the silence until he heard footsteps coming closer. Of course someone had found him. It was like he was magnetic or something and everyone was drawn to him.

"Not even 5 minutes", he muttered. "For crying out loud, can't I have 5 minutes alone?" It was a rhetorical question. He didn't expect an answer. And he didn't care who was there either. He wasn't going to turn around and check. Maybe whoever it was would just go away and leave him alone. He however didn't believe he'd be that lucky. But one could hope, right?

"Alright, I'll just come back later…", a voice said. Jack was on his feet faster than he would have thought possible, considering how old and tired he felt.

"Sam", he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. There she was, standing right infront of him. A smile appeared on his face and the tiredness and sadness disappeared.

"Hey", Sam said returning his smile. He had looked so tired when he got up. But then his expression changed and she couldn't help but smile. The next second she was wrapped in his arms.

Jack pulled her close, holding onto her tightly and breathing in her scent. He knew he shouldn't act that way in public, knew that the military frowned upon relationships within the ranks. But right now he didn't care. He was just glad to have her back, glad that she wasn't at the SGC when it blew up. Besides, he had left the SGC and retired so they could be together. It wasn't his fault that they kept bringing him back. If they didn't like his relationship with Sam they would have to find someone else to do his job. There just didn't seem to be anyone left with his kind of experience.

Sam wrapped her arms around Jack, holding onto him as well. Hearing about what happened to the SGC had been hard. She was off-world on the General Hammonds first test fly, as were SG-1. She was grateful for that, but they still lost a lot of good people and dear friends in the explosion.

As soon as they were back in earths orbit Sam beamed down into Atlantis and went to find Jack. She felt a little uneasy, knowing that he was her commanding officer once more now. How would that affect their relationship? Would they have to go back to being just friends? It had been hard enough to be separated for so long when she went to Pegasus to take command of Atlantis. She didn't want anything else to keep them apart anymore. She needed Jack, always had. They kept their feelings locked up inside for so long. She just didn't think she could do it anymore. So, when Jack pulled her into his arms Sam felt relieved. This wasn't them being two military officers, this was them being together. She sighed silently and smiled. This was the first good thing that happened in days.

"I'm glad you're back", Jack said when he finally let go of her.

"Even though I interrupted your 5 minutes of alone time?", she asked teasingly.

Jack chuckled slightly. "You can interrupt anything anytime", he said lovingly, just feeling happy that she was there. When he got the call that the SGC had been destroyed he wasn't sure if Sam was in there. The General Hammond had been due to leave for several days and they kept putting it off. What if they still hadn't left and Sam was at the SGC? Or someone else of SG-1? He had feared and thought that he lost one or all of them so many times already. He had been sure even, was sure that he lost Sam at one time or another. It never was a pleasant feeling and it didn't get easier over time. He felt like each time a part of him died. No, this job, this life definitely wasn't easy. But right now none of that mattered. Now Sam was here, she was alive and with him. And for this moment that was all that mattered.

"That's good to know."

They sat down on the bench, snuggling close together.

"Did we miss the funerals?", Sam asked silently.

"No, we waited. It's going to be tomorrow." There wasn't much left of the bodies, so waiting a few more days hadn't been a problem.

"Then we can go together", Sam stated and he nodded. His hand found hers and they sat in silence for a while.

"The new recruits are coming in a few hours", Jack then said.

Sam glanced at him, not looking too happy. "Replacements?"

"Yes. We lost a lot of people. And we need to be ready incase this was only the first strike."

Sam nodded. She was sure that this was only the beginning.

"There were explosions on other planets. We picked up some transmissions. I think it's safe to say that the explosive came through the gate."

"And it was big enough to break the shield."

"Yes", Sam said. This so wasn't good. Whoever sent the bomb had to be technologically very advanced. And they didn't negotiate or send warnings.

"I guess they want to isolate planets by destroying Stargates."

"Which means we can expect ships to arrive soon", Jack stated. He knew things were bad. Hopefully they wouldn't get even worse.

"Will Atlantis shield hold?", he then asked. They couldn't afford to lose another gate, or even the whole city.

"The ancients built it. So I'm pretty sure it will hold about anything as long as we can power it. But Rodney is probably checking everything already. I'll talk to him later."

"Ah yes, the search for ZPM's... which brings me back to new teams. We need to send them out there, looking for ZPM's. I'm gonna do Daniel a huge favour and make him search Atlantis for clues as to where to find them." He grinned, which brought a small smile back onto Sam's lips.

"Come on, let's go and talk to the others."

"Already? My 5 minutes can't be over yet, can they?", he whined.

Sam chuckled, got up and pulled him to his feet as well.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day**** 6: Atlantis – a big room****:**

Mac looked around the room. It was big and very strange. She had never seen anything like the building they were in. This was definitely classified.

She had been picked up, given the non-disclosure-agreement to sign and then brought here, wherever here was. This was where the tests took place: a psych evaluation, a health evaluation, shooting range, basic fitness, self defence and a simulation of a possible mission. They had finished the first 2 already.

Once everything was done and they were accepted they would be told what this was all about. Mac hoped she'd make it that far. Now that she was here she really wanted to find out what was going on. She wasn't sure if Harm really wanted her to succeed, but he had told her to do what she thought was best for her. They had moved to London for his career. Now it was her time. She loved him for that, but she had the feeling that maybe he hoped she wouldn't get in. Then he wouldn't have to start looking for a job in California and they wouldn't have to move. It would be a less complicated way. But since when had either of them chosen anything simple?

Glancing around the room Mac looked at the other people. They were all military, but not all were american. So this really was an international operation. Her curiosity grew.

Her eyes fell on a young man. He somehow looked familiar, but she didn't know how she might know him. He was american, as a small flag on his jacket showed. They had all been given the same clothes, well, almost the same. The flags varied.

A few minutes later they were called to go to the shooting range.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**day 6: Atlantis gym****:**

John Sheppard stood at the side of the room, observing. He was in charge of the self defence test. Ronon, Teyla and Teal'c were sparring with the new recruits. Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell was standing beside John. The man had offered to help and John liked the company. He liked Cameron as well. They had always gotten along during the brief times they worked together. And now it looked like they would be working together a lot more in the future. He liked the thought.

"She's good", Cam commented and wrote down something on a list. John was glad that Cam was taking notes. That way he only had to add a few thoughts later.

"Yes, she is, which is a good thing. She is one of the possible team leaders."

Cam nodded. "Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie. She's a lawyer. Didn't think lawyers could fight like that. Not that Teal'c couldn't take her down in a second….", he added with a smirk, proud of his team member. The Jaffa was still as fit as ever, even though he was a lot older now. Cam was still curious about what had happened during that time loop, or whatever it was. He had refused to let Sam explain in detail what probably happened. Too much science babble for his liking. She was the only one willing to talk about the thing however. Teal'c simply refused. Why was beyond him. The events had been changed anyway.

Cam was brought back to the situation at hand when one of the new recruits started to complain. The group including Lt. Colonel MacKenzie was done and the next three recruits were assigned their sparring partners. Apparently a young man didn't think Teyla was a match for him.

"Come on guys, you're not serious, are you? Why don't you let me fight one of them?", he suggested gesturing at Ronon and Teal'c. Then he glanced at a blonde recruit who was paired with Ronon. "Let the women do their thing."

The blonde glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?", she asked and looked at the guy threateningly. John had to give it to her, she really did look like she could kick his ass, even though she was smaller and thinner. She actually looked more like a model than a soldier. He had wondered what she was doing here when he first saw her. But the way she was looking at the 'big mouth' lieutenant now showed that you shouldn't mess with her. There was just something in her eyes.

John sighed and stepped forward. "Easy now. The sparring pairs are non-negotiable", he declared in a voice of authority. He would have liked to just throw the lieutenant out. He had been way too pleased with his shooting performance earlier and boasted around like an idiot. John wouldn't want him on his team or any other for that matter. But they needed men, so he would at least give the guy the chance to finish all tests before kicking his ass out.

The lieutenant held up his hands as if to show that everything was fine and he didn't do anything..

"Don't go easy on him", John told Teyla. She answered with a nod and a smug smirk. He couldn't wait to see this.

John stepped aside and gave the signal to start. He hardly blinked before lieutenant 'big mouth' was on the mat. A grin appeared on his face and John had to remind himself that laughing at the new recruits would not be nice. Then he heard Cam snicker beside him as Teyla sent the guy onto the mat again.

"Make sure you write that down."

"On it", Cam replied, made some notes and then glanced back at Teyla. Her moves were really great and he loved her fighting outfit.

"Hey, we're not here to evaluate Teyla", John said noticing Cams look.

Cam glanced at John, looking a little sheepish. Then he shrugged.

John smirked. Watching Teyla fight really was something.

"She's taken, you know", he then said.

Cam glanced at John, unsure if the other man was stating a fact or trying to express a claim. He definitely felt a little disappointed however. Teyla was nice, beautiful and a strong woman. And they had gotten along well during SG-1's brief visit to Atlantis almost 3 years ago. Not that they had a lot of time to get to know eachother much. Cam had hoped to change that now.

"So, you and her…?", he asked curiously.

John turned to Cam, raising an eyebrow. "Me and her what?", he asked smirking slightly. But then he shook his head. "We're just friends." Maybe he had wondered if they could be more at one point or the other, but it never happened and he was ok with it. Teyla was one of the most important people in his life and the way it was there was nothing to complicate or even compromise that. It was best that way.

"She has someone back in Pegasus. He's Athosian, like her, and the father of her son."

"Oh." Cam was a little surprised. But what had he expected? Just because Teyla seemed to be single 3 years ago didn't mean she still was.

"Must be hard for her to be so far away then."

John nodded. It had to be. He glanced at Teyla, who was helping the lieutenant up from the mat, and wondered how she must feel. Maybe he should talk to her. She had assured them that it was ok for them to come here, but staying on earth might be an entirely different thing. And he didn't think Atlantis was going anywhere anytime soon.

He then pulled himself out of his thoughts and glanced at the other pairs that were sparring. They had a job to do after all. The 'model' was doing a pretty good job. He could tell that Ronon was going easy on her, but she kept up pretty well.

Cam followed Johns gaze and looked at Ronon and his opponent. Right, the evaluation…

"She's not bad. Who'd have thought that when she entered the room?", Cam mentioned and shared a look with John. Then he looked at his list. "Captain Rachel Berenson, Marine Corps.", he said silently. Then he started to write down some observations about her.

John looked at the blonde marine, feeling rather curious about her now. She looked like she could be a model, actress or something, and she definitely looked way too young to be a Captain already. She had to be good. Well, she was good from what he had seen so far today. He'd keep a close eye on her.

The third new recruit was not bad either. Teal'c looked like he was holding back a little as well, but noone was expected to keep up with the Jaffa warrior.

"What's his name?", John asked.

Cam glanced at his list. "Captain Jason Becker. The new british member of the IOA suggested him."

John groaned. The IOA had never been on his list of favourite people. But then he had to think of Woolsey. He was part of the IOA as well. Over the past year he had sort of started to like the man. And now that he was dead John actually missed him. He sighed. Thinking about the explosion was not a good idea. They had lost too many good people in it.

"I guess we have an IOA member who actually had a good idea", Cam said before writing down some notes about Captain Becker.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**day 6: Atlantis – waiting room****:**

Jason Becker ruffled his wet hair with a towel. Then he put the towel away and casually leaned against the wall in the waiting room. They had a break before the next and final test. It was enough time to take a shower and get something to eat. He was just about to walk over to the buffet when the blonde, who had been in his self defence group, entered the room. Her hair was still a little wet, she was wearing the same clothes as everyone else and didn't have any make up on, but she still looked perfect. Once again he couldn't believe that she was a soldier. What was someone like her doing here? With her looks she belonged on a magazine or on the screen, starring in a movie. But despite her looks she seemed to be rather good at what she was doing.

"You did well in there", he said as she passed him.

The blonde turned to face him. "I know", she said. Then she started to smile. She didn't come off as arrogant, just self confident. And her smile was breath-taking.

"You weren't so bad yourself", Rachel added. She had mostly concentrated on her own sparring, but had been able to glance at the others from time to time.

"At least I didn't land on my ass every 10 seconds", Jason answered with a smirk as he glanced at the 3rd member of their self defence group. The guy really had it coming after the way he acted, but Jason almost felt sorry for him. Well, he did until he noticed that the guy was boasting around again and apparently tried to chat up one of the military personnel. She was a pretty redhead, probably about his age.

Rachel chuckled at his words. He seemed like a nice guy and he was kinda hot as well. Not that that mattered. They were both trying to get a job here, which meant there could never be anything more than friendship between them. And besides, she wasn't good at dating anyway. Maybe she really had a heart of ice like her last boyfriend had told her or she simply didn't have one anymore. It might not have come here with her. It probably was still back home – with Tobias.

Rachel frowned and tried to push away the memories. This really wasn't the right time to think about her past. She distracted herself by glancing at the arrogant guy and the redheaded.

"She seems to be enjoying herself", Rachel stated sarcastically. She wondered if she should go over and tell the guy what exactly she was thinking of him. No, that wasn't a good idea. She had a temper, a really bad one. She had worked hard on controlling it and usually managed by now. But this was too important to take any risks. She wasn't exactly sure what this job was about, but she knew it was something big. It was all classified and mysterious. But besides that she had a gut feeling that this was where she was meant to be. That might sound weird, but she never ever felt like this was where she was supposed to be, not since the Ellimist brought her here, saving her life, by throwing her into an alternate reality. Everything always felt wrong. Her friends and family weren't the same, her whole life was really different and most importantly Tobias simply didn't exist in this world. Nothing was like it should be. Well, there were no Yeerks, which was good. But it all still didn't feel right - until now. She wasn't about to mess this up because of an arrogant little snob.

Luckily it looked like the redhead could handle herself. Rachel couldn't hear what she said, but the guy walked off looking rather miserable.

"Want to get something to eat?", the tall dark haired guy next to her asked.

"Sure", Rachel agreed and followed him. "I'm Rachel by the way. Captain Rachel Berenson, US Marine Corps", she introduced herself. She was a marine for about 9 years now, but somehow she still felt like just Rachel. But she liked being a marine. It was the only thing she could imagine doing with her life. She just simply was a soldier through and through. Her cousin Jake had once asked her what she'd do when the war was over. She always thought everything would go back to normal somehow. And it kind of had for her. She ended up in a world where things were normal, always had been. But for her nothing would ever be normal again. She wasn't normal, even if she didn't morph, which she rarely did anyway. She was a soldier, had been since she was 14 and once her first war was over she enlisted and went to find another one. But still, despite all that, it felt strange to introduce herself with her rank.

"Captain Jason Becker, UK Special Operations."

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

About an hour later they were all led into another room where General O'Neill, Colonel Sheppard and a few other people waited for them.

The redhead, Lt. Laura Cadman, called their names, dividing them up into groups.

Great, the snob was on her team. Of course he had to be. She turned to look at Jason and they both sighed. Well, at least Jason was on her team, too. Their leader was a Lt. Colonel MacKenzie, who turned out to be a woman. Rachel smiled as they all gathered together. Somehow she didn't think the snob liked to get orders from a woman.

After everyone had found their team members the General addressed them, welcoming them and wishing them good luck. Then he explained that they were all going to be sent to different locations and would be simulating a mission. Colonel Sheppard explained the details. Each group would have to try and retrieve certain objects from enemy territory. There would be enemies around, possibly allies or even hostages. The enemy was to be neutralized, the allies and hostages rescued if possible. It sounded simple enough.

Rachel glanced at the gear they were given. The fake weapons were really high-tech. But what did she expect in a place like this? The whole building looked like out of a Science Fiction movie.

Once all teams were ready the General wished them luck once more and told them to be expecting anything. Nothing was impossible. As if Rachel needed to be reminded of that. She had seen aliens, been on other planets, could turn into animals and lived in an alternate reality. She didn't think much could shock her anymore.

Jason glanced at the General, wondering what the man meant with _anything_. Well, he'd find out soon enough. Besides, it wasn't like much could shock him anymore. After joining the Arc he was sure he had pretty much seen the weirdest stuff. What could throw you off after you fought dinosaurs, other creatures from all kinds of eras – past and future - and travelled through anomalies through time?

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Recruits – team 1:

Colonel Jack O'Neill walked through a corridor in Atlantis, followed by his team. Cassie was part of it, which was a good thing. They knew eachother for a while already and he knew she was a capable Lieutenant. Apart from that they both knew what this was all about. They knew about the Stargate program. That he even had to take this test was ridiculous. He used to lead SG-1, for crying out loud! Well, it technically wasn't him. Not this body. But he remembered it. He might technically just be 21, but he had the memories of about 56 years.

"This is way cool", one of Jacks team members declared in broken and heavy accented english. Jack frowned and ignored the guy. Why did he get stuck with 2 Russians? He knew why. They had to be a welcome present from the General. He knew how much he hated working with Russians. The man was him, or better, he was him – or whatever. He was the clone. The Asgard Loki had made him to replace the real Jack O'Neill while he _studied_ him. He was just a clone, but he was determined to do something good with his life. After finishing High school – again – he joined the Air Force – again. And now he was about to join the Stargate program again as well. It was the perfect opportunity. They needed men and he was one of the few people who actually came with experience. He was glad to be back, but he still wished the circumstances were different. Hank was dead and so were a lot of other people he knew. Whoever did this was going to pay. But first he needed to pass this stupid test.

They proceeded on their mission, looking for the artefact they were supposed to find. Jack hoped it wasn't a real artefact. Daniel would get a fit if anything happened to one of his precious artefacts. And they had Russians on the team. Something was meant to go wrong. It always did when Russians were involved.

About 20 minutes later they had eliminated 5 enemies. The Russians didn't seem to be surprised about the alien looking people. They probably already knew about the Stargate program. The Russians didn't seem to take the word classified quite that serious.

After rescuing a hostage, Daniel – who kept grinning at him in an irritating way – they found the artefact. He held it in his hands. Mission accomplished. Enemy dead, hostage saved, artefact retrieved, no dead Russians. He grinned happily. Then the alarm went off.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Recruits – team 2:

Mac rushed forward and jumped, pushing Lieutenant Cane down with her. Something grazed her arm and she knew that she would have been hit if this wasn't just a simulation. She frowned. But at least she hadn't lost a team member, even though the thought was tempting. Cane had been irritating her from the beginning. He thought he knew everything better, didn't want to follow orders – or were it just her orders? – and was just damn right annoying. He reminded her of Vukovic, but at least Vukovic had had a reason to be as arrogant as he was. He was good. Cane wasn't. He almost got them killed. Well, it was just a simulation, so they couldn't actually get killed, but it would be bad anyway.

"Stay down", she muttered while trying to peer over the knocked over table they were hiding behind. "That's an order", she added in an annoyed tone of voice. Then she heard shooting and the enemies dropped dead. They weren't actually dead, as they were holograms, but still… At least Mac could count on her other two team members. Becker and Berenson were doing a fine job so far.

"You alright?", Becker asked looking at them.

Mac nodded. "Just a graze", she said indicating her left arm.

"What? There's nothing there", Cane said dismissively.

Rachel frowned and shared a look with the Colonel and Jason. How did they end up with the idiot? Rachel wondered if they would throw her out if she _accidentally_ shot Cane in a friendly fire incident.

"Come on, let's go. We have an artefact to find", Mac announced.

Cane got up, leaned against the wall and then yelped. He was on the ground again. The wall had actually been a hidden door that opened when Cane touched it. Mac raised her gun, signalled the others to wait and moved into the room. Lights went on once she stepped inside and she could see the room much more clearly. It was some kind of science lab. Maybe the artefact was in here?

"All clear", she called. Becker and Berenson entered, guns raised, while Cane picked himself up from the ground.

"Check for the artefact", Mac told them and started looking herself.

The door shut as soon as Cane stepped away from it.

Mac, Becker and Berenson spun around. Becker was closest and started towards the wall where the door had been. Hopefully they weren't locked in.

Having a bad feeling Mac looked around for Cane, who had wandered off into the room and was standing next to a table.

"Don't touch anything", she warned, but it was too late. Cane had leaned forward and touched whatever was on the table. The room was bathed in bright light and something seemed to be radiating off the device. An alarm went off just as Berenson pulled Cane away from the device.

"I don't suppose that's part of the simulation?", Becker asked from the door, which he luckily had been able to open again.


	3. Chapter 3

The next chapter is ready. I hope you like it.

If you read my Colonial Crossover fic some things might seem familiar. Ancient devices are just such a nice way to bring people to Atlantis… *g*

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**D****ay 6: Atlantis – Rodney's lab****:**

John walked into Rodney's lab, which they had temporarily turned into the headquarter for the observation of the new recruits simulations. Rodney hadn't been pleased about it as he could be doing so much more important things, but after the scientist started protesting and whining General O'Neill had given him a direct order. John had the feeling that the General had been rather pleased with himself when he managed to make Rodney's life a little bit more miserable. Not that John could blame him. He might have done the same himself. Annoying Rodney was a nice way to pass time.

"How are they doing so far?", John asked.

Rodney glanced up at his friend and shrugged. "As expected. Some do well, others don't." He honestly wasn't that interested in the new recruits. He probably wouldn't spend much time with them anyway. And besides, he had other stuff to do. There were still repairs that needed to be done in the city after the battle with the Wraith a few weeks ago. Then there were ancient devices he needed to check out, security measures that needed updating, … But instead he had to watch soldiers play war games and measure their shots, hits, misses, observe their techniques,… As if he knew much about military techniques. Well, he guessed that was why they were taping the whole thing, and why Cadman was sitting infront of the other screen. He shivered slightly. Just being in the same room with her made him itchy. She just had a way of getting under his skin – literally! Why did she have to come back? Well, he supposed that it was logical after the SGC was gone. He sighed, not wanting to think about that.

"Rodney is right, some recruits are really good. And some aren't", Laura Cadman said. One in particular wasn't good at all. How did he make it here in the first place?

"Lieutenant Cane almost got his CO 'killed' a minute ago", she added.

"Ah, that one", John muttered, remembering the guy from his sparring with Teyla.

"I can't wait to kick him out", he admitted.

Laura grinned. She was glad to hear that. The arrogant git had tried to chat her up during almost every break until she made it very clear to him that he was overstepping his boundaries and that he would be sent home if he even spoke a single word to her again. Not that she had that kind of authority, but the guy didn't seem to realize that and besides, the military didn't like relationships, serious or casual.. Flirting with her wouldn't make a good impression.

"Good, his attempts to chat me up were getting on my nerves already", she stated.

Rodney's head snapped around, looking at her. "He was flirting with you?", he asked.

"Oh come on, Rodney, don't sound so surprised. Some guys actually do like me."

Rodney frowned and blushed a little. He hadn't meant that noone would like flirting with her. Of course men liked her. She was pretty after all, and not nearly as annoying as he first thought she was.

"Of course they do…", Rodney stammered.

John chuckled slightly. Somehow being around Rodney and Cadman was always fun.

Rodney quickly turned back to his screen, trying to find something to do besides thinking about Cadman and her admirers. He somehow didn't like the thought, which was ridiculous. He didn't even _like_ her. Cadman was annoying, bossy and tried to control everything – including his body while she was stuck in it. And besides that, he loved Jennifer and they were together now. Jennifer was beautiful, kind-hearted, brilliant, strong,…

Rodney's eyes fixed on the screen. Then he pressed a few buttons, going through every camera.

"Crap."

Johns head snapped around to face Rodney. He so hated that word. Whenever someone said 'crap' thing were going to turn real bad real soon.

"What is it?"

"Team 2 is gone", Rodney answered. "And yes, I checked every possible corridor and room they could be in. They are nowhere near the place I last saw them in and I only looked away for a second!"

John frowned and stepped next to Rodney, looking at the screen himself.

"I don't see them either", Cadman called.

"They can't just disappear. Where were they last? Are there any transporters nearby?", John asked.

Rodney pointed at a spot and shook his head. "No."

"Crap", John agreed. He was starting to get a bad feeling.

"Go back through the recordings to when they were last on screen."

Before Rodney could do that a part of the wall in one of the corridors moved. He zoomed in on that camera and saw Captain Becker standing in the doorway.

"A hidden door", John muttered. Hidden doors and secret rooms were never a good thing in Atlantis. His thoughts were confirmed when the cities alarm went off about a second later.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**D****ay 6: Atlantis corridor****:**

Jack left the conference room with a sigh of relief. He was glad that the meeting with the new IOA representatives was over. He hated meetings and the IOA always had a lot of useless suggestions to make. He considered it a waste of time to even listen to them in the first place. But he knew he had to. It was all a matter of international cooperation and trust. Jada jada ja… Well, he might not like it, but he had to try and keep everyone happy, which was why a lot of the new recruits were from other countries and he had agreed to give the Russians and Chinese whole teams. It made them get off his back and it was better than having Russians on any other team. They simply were bad luck. And he knew his clone for the very least would be happy if today was the last time he had a Russian on his team. He smirked a little and started wondering how it would be to have a younger version of himself under his command. Well, it could be amusing, as he knew exactly what would annoy him, like the Russians for example.

Jack hadn't even made it halfway back to his new office when the alarm went off. Great, just what he needed. Why couldn't things stay quiet for a few days at least? They had their hands full enough as it was.

He started to jog towards the control room.

"What is it?", he called when he finally made it there.

Sam stepped towards him and tapped her radio.

"Apparently one of the new recruit teams found a secret room", she answered Jack, letting him know what John just informed her about.

"Of course they did", Jack muttered sighing. Why wasn't he surprised? "Let me guess, something in that room was dangerous and the recruits touched it."

"Probably. Colonel Sheppard, Rodney and Lt. Cadman are on their way to check it out right now. We don't have cameras in the room behind the hidden door, so we don't really know what's going on", Sam answered.

"Right. So it could just be a security alarm or a malfunction", Jack said trying to sound hopeful.

Sam smirked, looking slightly amused. But Jack knew, that she didn't really believe it. Neither did he. Why should they get lucky today?

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**London 2008****:**

Stephen Hart stood in the room, his eyes fixed on the door, through which he could see Nick Cutter looking in. He didn't really want to look anywhere else. He saw movement out of the corner of his eyes. He knew that it couldn't be anything good. Probably the Smilodon, a dinosaur, one of the future predators, or anything else that was ready to eat him.

So this was it, he thought. He had faced danger so many times and always gotten away. But not this time. He was going to die in a matter of minutes, probably even seconds. There just was no way out of this. He had known it when he went into the room to lock the creatures in. He didn't want to die, but he couldn't let Nick do it. And there was no other way. The only possibility was to lock the room from the inside and Helen would never have done it, even though this was her mess. He frowned. How could he have been stupid enough to trust her? She had lied to him the whole time and he just didn't see it. He guessed it served him right that he paid the price for his stupidity now.

Something came closer and jumped. Stephen instinctively moved out of the way. Death might be inevitable, but he couldn't just give in. And even more importantly he could not let himself get eaten in the line of sight of his friend Nick Cutter.

It however didn't take long until one of the creatures got him. Pain shot through him as claws grazed his arm. He stumbled and fell to the ground. Something was looming over him, but before it could strike another even bigger prehistoric animal jumped on it and they started to fight. This had been the plan. Get all the creatures into one room and let them fight and eat eachother. Too bad he was in the middle of it all!

Something roared. Other animals moaned. And a lot of them were coming his way now. The smell of his blood was announcing him as easy prey.

His heart was pounding loudly as Stephen slowly got to his feet, trying not to make any sudden movements. He had to get away, just a few more steps. He couldn't risk that Cutter could still see him.

Stephen made a step backwards, trying to ignore the knowledge that that could be just as deadly as stepping forward, towards the approaching Smilodon with its huge sabre-tooths.

Then there suddenly was a bright light. Stephen shielded his eyes reflexively, just as something hit him in the side and knocked him a few feet away. He groaned, holding his bleeding arm. His head and chest were hurting from the impact. For a moment he wondered if he should just stay on the ground, eyes closed. Maybe it would be better if he didn't see it coming, whatever it was that would kill him.

But then he remembered the light. Where did it come from? Could it be an anomaly? Could he be that lucky? He opened his eyes just as shots were fired. The Smilodon was inches from him, but someone shot at it and the huge tiger turned towards the firing, obviously distracted.

Stephen blinked and pushed himself up slightly. What was going on? Who was shooting? And where the hell was he? This didn't look like the room he was in just seconds ago, even though there were still a lot of creatures around.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**D****ay 6: Atlantis – team 2****:**

The device was emitting some sort of light waves. Judging by the blaring alarm that wasn't a good thing.

Mac backed away from the device and then glanced at Becker. She had no clue if this was part of the simulation. Jack had warned them that anything could happen. So this could be part of the simulation. She was sure that everyone in the building could hear the alarm, but that might just be to confuse them. She could contact Colonel Sheppard over the radios they had been given, but they were told to only use them in emergency situations and Mac wasn't willing to risk making a bad move by asking for help if nothing really bad was happening… yet. Okay, a device was emitting light waves. So what? Noone was injured or dead, light wasn't dangerous. Unless it was combined with some sort of radiation. Crap, she had no idea what to do.

"Let's move back. Leave the room." They didn't know what the device was for or how to shut it off. If it was really something bad that had nothing to do with the simulation someone would come soon. In the meantime her priority was to keep her team safe.

Jason moved out of the room first, his fake p-90 raised, checking for anything dangerous. "Clear", he called. Rachel was close behind him, then the other two left the room as well. They all moved away from the room a little, then waited.

Jason looked at Colonel MacKenzie, waiting for orders on what to do next.

Mac glanced at her team members, trying to decide on what to do next, when she suddenly heard a voice over her radio.

"_This is Colonel Sheppard. Colonel MacKenzie, please leave the room you __are in. Don't touch anything! I repeat, don't touch anything! This is not part of the simulation. We're on our way."_

Mac sighed slightly. At least she knew now that the simulation was over. It might not be a good sign that one of her team member triggered an alarm, but at least she knew the facts now and could move on from there.

"Understood, Colonel", she answered tapping her radio. "We're in the corridor already."

"_Good. Wait there."_

"Got it", Rachel said. She had heard Sheppard as well.

"What do you think the device is?", she then asked the others. It had looked strange. Everything here was strange, but that device just kind of screamed _'alien'_ to her. Humans didn't build stuff like that, did they? Not where she was from. Or at least that was what she thought. She sighed. If this actually had anything to do with aliens things probably would turn bad soon. But a part of her was starting to feel excited. This really did feel right.

Jason shrugged at Rachel's question. He had no idea. Then his eyes fell on Cane.

"Where are you going, _mate_?" Jason's arm shot out and he held Cane back. The guy was actually trying to sneak back towards the room they just left. And that after they had been ordered to stay away.

"Get off me! I just want to take a look. Maybe it turned itself off already", Cane said.

"Don't move, Lieutenant", Colonel MacKenzie ordered in a firm voice, not looking happy at all.

Jason understood her frustration. Cane was worse than even any of the team he had to protect while working at the Arc. He sighed. He didn't really want to think about Connor, Abby, and the rest of them. He actually missed them. Maybe he should have just refused to come here and keep doing the job he was doing. He had tried to tell his father that he was happy where he was, that his work at the Arc was important. But his father had said that this was a matter of international importance and that he would be stupid not to go. Besides, he had pulled all kinds of strings to get his son this opportunity. How could he say no to that?

Jason pushed away his thoughts when he heard footsteps approaching. Then there suddenly was another bright light. He shielded his eyes for a moment. When the light faded and he opened his eyes again all hell broke loose.

Jason didn't hesitate a second. The corridor was full of prehistoric animals as well as two predators. He might not have expected to see dinosaurs or future predators today, but that didn't matter. He fired his weapon, just to realize that he was only holding a simulator gun.

"Crap!", he cursed and threw the damn thing at one of the approaching creatures. The next second gun shots erupted.

"What the hell?", Lt. Colonel John Sheppard muttered as he approached. He was expecting all kinds of weird stuff when the alarm went off, but not prehistoric animals inside of the city!

John stepped infront of the new recruits, Cadman right beside him. Firing their p-90's they concentrated on eliminating the threat before asking any more questions. Luckily they had come the way they did or they would have been separated from the recruits by the animals. That so wouldn't have been good as they had no real weapons to defend themselves with.

When the shots were fired the creatures started rushing off down the corridor. One huge tiger however stayed back and he was right next to someone, but looked in their direction.

John kept a close eye on the tiger while tapping his radio. "We have dangerous animals in the city. Some prehistoric as far as I can tell", John announced.

"_What?"_, came General O'Neill's answer. _"Are you trying to tell me we have dinosaurs in the city?"_

"Yes, sir! They are on the loose."

Rodney McKay glanced over Cadman's shoulder at the very, very big tiger. He had his gun in hand, but was too stunned to move. What was a tiger doing in Atlantis?

Jason snatched the gun from the stunned looking guy and stepped next to Lt. Cadman.

"Hey", Rodney protested, but then fell silent. It probably was better to leave the shooting to the military guys anyway. He had gotten better at it over the years, but he still wasn't the best shooter.

Jason ignored the protesting man and fired the gun.

"Try not to hit the man", John called while firing as well and ignoring General O'Neill's voice over the radio.

"A little busy here", he replied.

The tiger was hit several times, but it still came towards them. It leaped and Jason pushed the others out of the way just in time.

The Smilodon landed a few feet away, bleeding heavily, but still alive. It turned and faced the group of people huddled on the ground.

Rachel was a bit further away from the rest. She really hated that she didn't have a weapon. This really sucked. For a moment she wondered if she should morph. But would she be fast enough? Or would she risk exposing her big secret for nothing? The others would shoot the tiger, right? But they were all huddled together, in a mess of arms and legs and not moving fast enough. Instinctively Rachel moved forward, reaching out with her hand. The tiger was looking away from her, fixated on the prey infront of him.

Rachel touched the tiger and started acquiring it, which made the tiger fall into the acquiring trance and gave the others a few more moments to recover.

Shots were fired and the Smilodon finally collapsed.

John Sheppard got up, still holding his p-90 tightly. The tiger didn't move anymore however. It was dead.

"Where the hell did they come from?", John asked frowning.

Jason had a pretty good idea where they came from, but wasn't sure if he should say anything. The anomaly research was still top secret after all. Besides, he hadn't actually seen an anomaly, had he? Maybe he was just making the wrong conclusions because of his previous job? There was no anomaly that would bring all those different creatures here together, was there?

John didn't really expect an explanation. It probably had to do with something ancient. It usually did. Without another word he moved towards the secret room. The door had closed again. John placed his hand against the wall and moved forward. Once he was at the right spot the door opened. He frowned. Some sort of light waves were looming around a device.

"Rodney, get over here!"

Rodney didn't have to be told twice.

"Check this out and turn it off!", John ordered the scientist. "Cadman, you stay with him. I'm going after the animals."

----- -----

Mac looked after Colonel Sheppard as he walked towards the hidden room. She was still trying to process what she just saw. There was a huge tiger and dinosaurs. Dinosaurs!!! They had to be fake. High tech models, or holograms. But they bled! Jack had told them to expect anything, but she hadn't thought he meant it like that. On the other hand Colonel Sheppard seemed to be as surprised as she was. Or well, at least he didn't seem to have expected dinosaurs. He however seemed to recover more quickly than her.

Rachel looked down at the dead tiger. This so wasn't a normal tiger. It was huge and surely even more deadly than Jake's usual tiger battle morph. She quickly pushed away the thoughts of her cousin and instead looked around. She had no idea where the animals suddenly came from, especially as there were dinosaurs among them. And they definitely were dinosaurs. She knew what dinosaurs looked like. She had been in the past and even acquired and morphed dinosaurs, so she knew one when she saw it.

The dinosaurs however weren't the only ones that suddenly appeared. There was a man as well. He was just getting up and didn't look too well. His arm was bleeding and he seemed a little unsteady on his feet. Rachel rushed to his side quickly.

"You okay?", she asked.

Stephen was glad when a hand steadied him. He felt a little dizzy, probably hit his head when one of the creatures knocked him around. Once he stood still he started to feel a little better.

His vision came back completely and his eyes focused on the woman by his side. Wow, she was beautiful! He blinked, but she was still there.

"Way better than expected", Stephen answered and smiled. He wasn't dead, so that was good. It actually was a miracle. He still had no idea how he got out of a locked room full of creatures from the past and future. It couldn't have been an anomaly, could it? He would have had to go through it. And besides, anomalies appeared suddenly, but they didn't just close again seconds later.

Mac approached the two of them. "How did you get here?", she asked, trying to find some sort of explanation for all of this.

"I honestly have no idea", Stephen answered the dark haired woman that came closer.

Hearing voices Jason was pulled out of his thoughts. He had been looking at the huge tiger, wondering if he should tell these people what he knew. There were creatures from other times on the loose after all. If it had just been dinosaurs the military surely would be able to handle them. But there had been at least two predators among the group of creatures. They had rushed off after the dinosaurs, but they could just as well attack a human soon. Lives were at stake here.

He then however looked at the talking people and stepped closer. The man was bleeding and they better got him to a doctor soon, especially with animals around that loved the smell of blood.

Mac sighed. It would have been too good to be true if she got answers right away.

"Well, we better find you a doctor first", she then said and looked over to Colonel Sheppard who was giving Lt. Cadman instructions. Once he was done he held up his hand to indicate that he would be with them soon, before starting to talk over the radio.

Mac turned back to the stranger. "You want to sit down for a moment?", she asked.

Stephen shook his head, but leaned against the wall.

"I'm, Lt. Colonel MacKenzie, this is Captain Rachel Berenson, Captain Becker and Lt. Colonel Sheppard." Mac gestured at each of them. Lt Cadman and the other man had disappeared into the hidden room.

Stephen nodded and smiled slightly. "I'm …"

"Stephen Hart?", Jason asked unbelievingly as he stepped infront of the man. He had never met Stephen, but had read his file and seen pictures of him. Cutter had some in his office and some were on the fridge in the Arc. But this couldn't be Stephen Hart, could it? He was dead! He died in a heroic act, giving his life to keep creatures from getting out and running around the city, surely killing a lot of people.

Stephen looked at the man surprised. He had never seen him before and couldn't imagine why he knew his name.

"You know eachother?", John asked stepping closer and looking from one man to the other.

"No", Stephen answered without hesitation. "How do you know my name?", he then added.

John looked a little confused over to Becker.

"Well, I don't actually know him", Jason told John. "Just of him." He turned to Stephen. "I used to work for the Arc."

"Oh." Stephen was surprised that he didn't recognize him. The Arc was big, but not that big.

"Well, anyway, we need to move. There'll be time for conversations later", John announced. "I need to go after those _'animals'_."

"I'll come with you", Jason declared quickly. "I have experience with… _'animals'_", he said using the same word as the Colonel. He still wasn't sure if he should tell these people about anomalies and the Arc.

"Me, too", the other three said at the same time.

John smirked slightly. "At least the new recruits were eager to help and they hadn't freaked out at the sight of dinosaurs. It looked like they were ready for this job.

"Alright, but we'll need more weapons. We can pick some up on the way." He handed his gun over to Colonel MacKenzie, keeping only his p-90.

"You however are going to the infirmary", he added looking at Stephen. The guy was wounded and he didn't know him anyway. He looked like a civilian and John definitely wouldn't let a wounded civilians go after dangerous animals.

"I have experience with these sorts of _'animals'_, too", Stephen protested.

"Enough", John declared and sighed. "We don't have time for this!"

"We are going to the infirmary first. And then look further for the animals."

"Let's go!"

"Wait", Mac said with a frown.

"What?", John wanted to know, already feeling a little agitated.

"Where is Lt. Cane?"

They all looked around.

"Crap!"

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 6: Atlantis – control room****:**

Jack frowned when he heard Colonel Sheppard's voice over the radio. He had to be kidding, right?

"What? Are you trying to tell me we have dinosaurs in the city?" Please let it be a joke, he thought. He really wasn't in the mood for prehistoric animals! This was screaming time travel, and he hated time travel!

"_Yes, sir! They are on the loose."_

"Crap", Jack muttered, rubbing his neck. Then he glanced at Sam. "Whatever the recruits did, I'm guessing it has something to do with time travel. We need that fixed. Now!"

Sam nodded. Rodney was there already, but it wouldn't hurt if she went there, too.

"Where exactly are you, Colonel Sheppard? I'm sending Colonel Carter to help."

"_A little busy here"_, came the answer. Jack could also hear shooting. Damn, this really didn't sound good.

"Take some men with you", he told Sam who was already leaning over one of the consoles and trying to locate Sheppard.

"Sure."

Jack sighed. He wanted to go with her. But as leader he was expected to stay behind and coordinate everything. He hated that and he also hated the fact that the new recruits were already in danger. They were trying to find new personnel and not get people killed before they even joined the Stargate program.

"Which team of recruits is with Sheppard?", he then asked.

"Colonel Mackenzie's", Sam answered while stepping away from the consoles.

Jack sighed. Of course it was her team. O'Hara would kill him if he got his nice killed before her first day of work.

"Come on, let's go", Sam told a few marines and then waved at him briefly before walking off.

"John, Rodney, I'm on my way", Sam announced over the radio.

Jack looked after her, then turned around.

"Is there a way to track these animals?", he asked. A man stepped forward. He was a scientist, if Jack remembered right.

"I'll try to figure something out", Radek Zelenka said and went over to one of the consoles.

"We're talking about big animals, right?"

"I guess so", Jack answered. Little baby dinosaurs probably weren't what Sheppard called dangerous.

A few minutes later a map of the city appeared on a big screen. "Okay, the red buttons are humans. I calibrated the system to pick up anything that is a lot bigger and heavier…."

Blue dots appeared on the screen, about a dozen of them.

"Crap, they move fast!" The simulations had been located in abandoned parts of the city. But the animals were already getting close to the inhabited parts.

"Put me on the cities communication system."

Chuck nodded and soon gave a sign that he was ready.

"This is General O'Neill. You all heard the alarm a few minutes ago. Unfortunately it was not a malfunction or part of the simulations." As if they were ever that lucky… "We have dangerous animals in the city and a malfunctioning ancient device. All military personnel, please gather in teams and patrol the corridors. All civilians, please stay in your rooms until further notice or until military personnel come to evacuate you to safer areas. Please report all animal sightings or other unusual occurrences!"

Once he was done Jack sighed. He hoped everyone would be safe.

Soon teams started to report in. Jack stoop beside Zelenka, looking at the map. They began coordinating teams towards the closest animals and gave them further information what they were dealing with.

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----


	4. Chapter 4

**Day 6: Atlantis – recruits team 1****:**

"Oh, come on this isn't fair", Colonel O'Neill whined. Everything had gone so well. Why was there an alarm now?

"Did you trigger anything?", he asked and looked at the Russians accusingly. They quickly shook their heads and looked rather insulted.

"There is nothing that could be triggered in here", Daniel stated, glaring at Jack slightly. Obviously Jack's clone didn't like Russians much either.

"So we didn't cause the alarm", Cassie stated and Daniel nodded while walking towards the door and looking out.

Jack stepped next to Daniel. "Does that mean another team triggered the alarm? It is part of the simulation, right?", he asked sounding hopeful. But Daniel could hear the doubt in his voice.

"Erm, probably not", Daniel answered. He wasn't sure about all the technical stuff that was involved in the simulations. His part was to just play a hostage. But he had a bad feeling. His experience told him that something was wrong.

"Please tell me this is part of the simulation?", he asked over his radio.

"_I'm afraid not"_, Sam answered him. _"Wait a sec, Daniel…"_

Daniel glanced at the new recruits and pulled his gun. He had learned a while ago that it was best to always walk around prepared, especially in Atlantis. The last time he was in the city he had been abducted by crazy Asgards.

"Give that to me", Jack said and snatched the gun from Daniel.

"Hey, that's mine!"

Jack glared at him and Daniel decided to stay quiet. It might look like he was with a bunch of kids, but Jack was kind of older than him and definitely more experienced with guns. Or was he? How many times had that clone body actually shot anything?

Daniel was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a voice over the radio. He had no idea who it was, but that wasn't the point. Apparently dinosaurs were loose in Atlantis. Well, he hadn't seen that one coming.

"They want us to head back to the control room. And there are dinosaurs in the city."

Four heads snapped around to stare at Daniel.

"Did you just say dinosaurs? Cause I thought I heard you say DINOSAURS!", Jack exclaimed.

Daniel sighed. "Yes, Jack, I did."

Jack groaned. Of course something like this had to happen on his first day back. Was this meant to be another welcoming gift?

"You don't have another gun, Daniel, do you?", Cassie asked while the two Russians were talking rather fast in russian.

"No, sorry", Daniel said.

"Maybe we'll find something on the way", Jack said. "Let's go find the closest transporter and get to the control room." He looked at the Russians and then handed one of them the fake artefact they were supposed to find.

"Don't lose that", he ordered. He didn't want to fail this stupid test because some crazy dinosaurs decided to roam Atlantis today of all days.

They headed out, Jack in the lead, Daniel at the back.

"The balconies", Jack then said. "This way." They probably were a bit safer out there. One side less from which they could get attacked. Unless the dinosaurs could fly...

They hadn't gone far when General O'Neill's voice boomed over the cities communication system:

"_This is General O'Neill. You all heard the alarm a few minutes ago. Unfortunately it was not a malfuncti__on or part of the simulations. We have dangerous animals in the city and a malfunctioning ancient device. All military personnel, please gather in teams and patrol the corridors. All civilians, please stay in your rooms until further notice or until military personnel comes to evacuate you to safer areas. Please report all animal sightings or other unusual occurrences!"_

Jack turned to glance at Daniel. An ancient device. Great! It probably had something to do with time travel. How else would Dinosaurs get here?

"Daniel, where's the next transporter?", Jack called. They only had one gun, so they had to get to safety as quickly as possible.

"You're asking me?", Daniel answered. "You're the one who didn't allow me to join the Atlantis expedition. Well, technically not you. But you know, what I mean…"

"Right", Jack answered. He could imagine that. He wouldn't have let Daniel go either.

"But you've been in the city before, haven't you?"

"Twice. And I didn't have time to wander around the uninhabited parts", Daniel called back.

"Maybe we shouldn't make that much noise. Animals have good hearing, don't they?", Cassie said.

Jack glanced at her. She was right and smart, which was exactly why he liked her.

"Right", he whispered and put his finger to his lips.

Then a bright light appeared out of nowhere. Jack shielded his eyes with one hand and held the gun firmly with his other hand. When the light faded he blinked, then saw a man a few feet away, pressed against the railing by what had to be a Wraith. He had only seen pictures of Wraith so far, but he was certain about what he was seeing, even though Wraith were not supposed to be in Atlantis. Hell, they weren't even supposed to be in this Galaxy! But when did that ever stop any of their enemies?

Jack didn't hesitate. The life-sucking alien was about to feed, he was sure of it. So he started shooting. He could ask questions later. And he definitely had a lot of those!

----- -----

Lt. Aiden Ford grabbed his knife in a desperate try to save his own life. The Wraith was about to start feeding. His worst nightmare would become reality right now if he didn't manage to prevent it somehow.

Before he could do anything however there was a bright light. And then someone was shooting. The Wraith seemed startled for a second and Ford used that to ram his knife into the Wraiths head.

Footsteps echoed, then the Wraith was pulled off of him and fell to the ground, blood oozing out of several wounds.

Ford breathed heavily, hardly able to believe that he made it.

"Thanks", he muttered as he glanced at the people who saved his life. There were five of them. He had never seen the four younger people, even though they were wearing Atlantis uniforms. What really surprised him however was to see Daniel Jackson.

"Dr. Jackson?", he asked unbelievingly. "How did you get here?"

Daniel looked at the young marine a little puzzled. "Me? How did _you _get here? You appeared out of nowhere."

Jack stood next to Daniel, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

"What do you mean?", Ford asked. Then he started to look around and froze. "What the hell?", he muttered. The bodies of his men were gone, as well as the dead Wraith. Looking up showed that Atlantis was not under attack, there were no Wraith darts or hives in the air. And when he turned around he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Is that… That's the Golden Gate Bridge!"

He turned back around and stared at the five people infront of him. Okay, maybe he was the one who suddenly got here. Because this was so not where he had been a few minutes ago.

"We're on earth!"

"Yes", Jack answered. "And you are?"

"Lt. Aiden Ford, USMC."

"Ah, yes, Daniel", Daniel exclaimed. "I remember you. You joined the Atlantis expedition in the beginning. And went MIA after the first year."

Ford and Jack both stared at Daniel. "What's that supposed to mean? How did he get here?", Jack wanted to know.

"Not a clue", Daniel answered. "But if I had to guess, I'd say it has something to do with that ancient device.

"How about we sort this out later?", Cassie suggested looking around a little nervously. "There are still dinosaurs running around the city and we have only one gun."

"Did you say dinosaurs?", Ford wanted to know while pulling a gun out of his boot. "And we have two guns."

"Excellent. Finally some good news", Jack said. "Now, if you can show us the quickest way to the control room you'll officially be my favorite person today."

Ford grinned, already liking the young man.

"This way." He started to lead them. He had a million questions and felt a little confused, but that would just have to wait until later.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Atlantis – ****a corridor****:**

Sheila Trebal left her room and started to walk towards the Auroras landing deck. They were scheduled to leave in an hour. She felt excited and happy at the thought. She loved to be on a ship, flying through space.

"Hey there", came a greeting and her sister Sharon stepped next to her, grinning widely. It was her first flight and Sharon had been giddy and a bundle of nerves for several days now.

Sheila grinned. "Relax, we'll take off soon enough."

"I know, but I just can't wait. It's my first flight, you know."

"No, really?", Sheila asked faking surprise before chuckling.

Sharon elbowed her and was about to say something when a bright light appeared out of nowhere.

"What the….", Sheila muttered. Then the light disappeared just as quickly as it had come.

"What was that?", Sharon wanted to know. Then shots erupted.

Sheila quickly dived for cover, pulling her sister with her. Hiding behind a corner Sheila peered around it with a frown on her face. Who would be shooting at them? They were in Atlantis. This was the safest place in the galaxy! It might be dangerous out there, but not here! She didn't even have a gun with her. She had her weapons on board the Aurora already.

More shots were fired and missed her by inches. Crap, what should they do?

Glancing towards her sister Sheila then froze. "Sharon!", she exclaimed. Her sister was slumped against the wall, holding her chest. Blood was seeping through her fingers.

"No!" She quickly pressed her hand over her sisters, trying to stop the blood flow. Sharon's eyes were wide with shock. She had to get her to a doctor as quickly as possible. But what about the shooters, she wondered. Then she was pulled up and thrown against the wall hard.

"I thought the city was supposed to be empty", someone muttered. Then a gun was pressed against her forehead. "Who are you?"

Sheila stared at the man. She had never seen him before and he wasn't wearing anything her people would ever wear. How did he get into the city?

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 6: Atlantis – ****a corridor****:**

Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell was walking through Atlantis, exploring a little. After helping out with the new recruits self defense test he went to the cafeteria and ate something. Then he decided to check out the city of the ancients. He didn't get a chance to see much of it the last time he was here and since he probably would be stationed here from now on, he might as well get to know the place.

His thoughts wandered to all the people they had lost in the explosion. He'd miss General Landry the most. But there were so many people they had lost. Almost every team had still been on base. They should have been home. It was late in the evening when the explosion occurred. But there were no normal working hours in the Stargate program.

Cam sighed, trying to push away the thoughts and find something else to think about. But what? He needed a distraction.

As if on cue the cities alarm went off.

Cam stopped in his tracks and cursed. He hadn't meant that kind of distraction!

Frowning he tapped his radio. "This is Colonel Mitchell. What's going on?", he asked.

"Cam, wait a sec. I'm not entirely sure, yet", Sam answered. "I'm in the control room. We'll get back to you as soon as we figure out what caused the alarm."

It didn't take long until one of the technicians, Chuck, brought him up to speed. Dinosaurs? Right! On day he'd wake up and there would be nothing left that could surprise him anymore. Today wasn't that day.

He contacted Vala and Teal'c and told them to meet him at the cafeteria. Then they'd go on a dinosaur hunt.

Cam headed towards the cafeteria, gun in hand, as General O'Neill's voice boomed through the city, warning everyone. Then he heard gunshots. Maybe someone had run into dinosaurs and needed help. He quickly headed in the direction the gunshots came from.

He didn't see any dinosaurs. Instead he soon noticed two men and two women. One woman was bleeding and on the ground. The other was backed against the wall, a gun pointed at her head by one of the guys. Cam didn't know any of them, but he was pretty sure whose side he was on.

"Drop the gun", he called, approaching silently. He probably shouldn't have announced himself like that, as the second guy spun around and shot at him. That's what you got for not shooting someone from behind, he thought as he dropped to the ground and shot the guy.

----- -----

Sheila was sure the man was going to shoot her, just like they shot her sister. But then another man arrived. He distracted the men long enough for her to yank the guys arm away and kick him in the crotch. As he stumbled backwards she hit him in the face hard and he fell to the ground.

The other man was on the ground, too, probably dead. She however didn't have time to check on him. Sharon was more important. She knelt down beside her sister.

"Sharon, can you hear me?", she asked as she felt for a pulse. There was one, but it was faint.

"Is she alive?", the man who helped her asked while kneeling down next to them.

"Yes."

"We need to get her to the infirmary", Cameron said. He still wasn't sure who these people were, but that could wait.

Sheila looked up at the man. He wasn't dressed in the typical lantean clothes either. Was he an intruder as well? But why would he help her against his own people? She probably shouldn't wonder about that and instead make sure he couldn't turn on her. Her gaze fell on the gun of the guy who had pushed her against the wall.

Cam noticed her gaze and sighed. He quickly grabbed the gun and holstered it.

"Listen, I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help."

Sheila stared at him. When he reached for the gun she thought he was going to threaten her after all. But he didn't.

"Who are you? And how did you get into Atlantis?"

"How did _I_ get into Atlantis? I was going to ask you the same, seeing as you don't really look like you belong here." He gestured at her clothes. Then he bent towards the unconscious woman.

"I'll carry her to the infirmary." He couldn't call for medics to get her. There were dinosaurs on the loose. Civilians shouldn't move around. It was too big a risk.

"What do you mean I don't belong here? I've lived here all my live. I'm lantean, unlike you!"

Cam stared at her. "You're what? OMG!" There were dinosaurs in the city, which probably meant that time travel was involved. So, why should the dinosaurs be the only ones that came here? "You're an ancient."

Sheila tilted her head. "Do I look ancient to you?", she asked, not really understanding what he was getting at. Then she gestured at her sister. "We need to move."

"Right", Cam said and picked the wounded woman up. Luckily she was small and thin, so she wasn't too heavy.

He made a few steps and then glanced around, not sure where to go.

"This way. There's a transporter right here", Sheila said.

Cam followed her, glad that she knew the way.

"Listen, this is probably going to sound crazy, but I think you traveled through time", he said biting his lip as they walked into the transporter.

Sheila turned to face him. "We traveled through time? How is that possible?", she asked. It might sound crazy, but Sheila knew that time travel was possible. Her father was one of Atlantis head scientists. He had been working on time travel devices for years. Ever since her mother died he seemed obsessed with them. But she and Sharon had been nowhere near one.

That was not the reaction he had expected. She seemed way too calm and didn't tell him he was crazy or kidding. But then again, if she was an ancient she probably knew a lot more about stuff like that than he did.

"An anci-, er lantean device is malfunctioning. It seems to have something to do with time travel. We have prehistoric animals in the city, too."

Sheila sighed. This was all so strange. She couldn't deal with this right now.

The transporter stopped and they stepped out right next to the infirmary. Dr. Keller opened the locked doors when Cam called that they had an emergency.

Within seconds a lot of doctors and nurses rushed to their side and the wounded ancient was rushed off. The other one followed.

Cam stayed back and tapped his radio.

"General O'Neill, this is Colonel Mitchell. I think more than just dinosaurs appeared in the city."

"_Why am I not surprised"_, came the answer. _"What did you find, Colonel?"_

"Some trigger-happy humans. And I think two ancients."

There was silence.

"_You mean actual ancients? Living and breathing ones?"_

"Yes. One of them has been shot though. I'm in the infirmary with them now."

"_Okay, stay with them. I was meaning to send someone to the infirmary anyway, incase one of our dinosaurs decides to check out that part of the city."_

"Understood."

Cam silently walked towards the region the doctors had taken the ancient while letting the General bring him up to date and telling him where to find the attackers.

Once he was done talking to O'Neill Cam contacted Vala and Teal'c, telling them what happened. Then he went over to the ancient.

"They'll take good care of her", he promised.

Sheila glanced at the man who had helped her, feeling glad that he was still there. She felt a little lost now that Sharon had been taken away. This really wasn't her time. It weren't her people. She had no idea what to do now. How could she get back home? And what about Sharon? She wouldn't go anywhere without her.

Cam looked at her, wondering what she was thinking. This surely wasn't easy for her.

"I'm Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell", he introduced himself, trying to make her feel more at ease.

"Sheila Trebal, 1st officer of the lantean warship Aurora", she said and then sighed as she remembered how excited her sister had been about her first trip on the Aurora. She probably wouldn't make that trip now.

"Nice to meet you, Sheila", Cam said with a smile. Then he noticed a young black woman coming towards them.

"I'm Dr. Jones. Can I help you?", she asked and looked at them a little concerned.

Cam followed her gaze and noticed how bloody they actually were. "Oh. It's not our blood." He glanced at Sheila.

"You're not hurt, right?"

"No, It's all Sharon's blood."

"Ah, okay. You can clean up over there", the doctor told them. Cam nodded and thanked her. Then he led Sheila over to the toilets.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 6: Atlantis – ****corridor****:**

"Stay back", Major Lorne called as some sort of dinosaur headed towards them. He had played the hostage for team 3 of the new recruits. As soon as he heard about the threat he had tried to get the team to the nearest transporter and get them to safety. But of course that hadn't turned out as planned. The corridor the transporter was in was already occupied.

"_Major Lorne, there is a__ prehistoric animal coming towards you", _Zelenka's voice came over the radio.

"No kidding", he mumbled as he raised his gun and fired. The dinosaur was hit, but still kept coming.

"Move, move, move", he called and pushed the team members into the next room.

"Can you lock that door?", he asked while standing at attention, his gun held high.

"Sure", Amelia Banks answered and went over to the wall, taking off the controls for the door. She wasn't sure if a locked door would stop that dinosaur, but they could hope. It might just run past the room anyway.

"This is so not what I expected when I got out of bed this morning", she said.

Major Lorne chuckled. "Welcome to my world", he said. At least 50% of all days he was surprised by something he didn't expect. Work in the Stargate program was definitely never dull. Well, at least unless you had to accompany one of the botanists to a planet to admire the alien plant life.

"Done", Amelia announced and moved away from the door.

"Good", Lorne answered. Then he tapped his radio. "Zelenka, where is it?"

"_It moved on, Major Lorne", _the scientist answered. _"Stay where you are. Ronon and Teyla are on their way to you with weapons."_

"Understood", Lorne answered. Then he turned to look at the others. Two of them were sitting on the ground, looking rather pale. They definitely weren't cut out for this job. You had to be ready for anything, if you stepped through the Stargate. You never knew what was on the other side.

The Chinese team leader was holding it together better, but he hadn't said a word since he saw the dinosaur. Lorne was definitely glad he had been there when this team was faced with the reality of what it meant to be a member of the Stargate program.

At least Amelia was doing fine.

"What made you decide to try and join one of the teams?", he asked her.

Amelia shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to see what's out there more often." It was the truth, but the main reason actually was Ronon. He had once told her that they could use someone with her fighting skills out there. That was when she had started to think about it. When she heard about the new recruits coming in for tests she asked if she could join them. She wasn't good at shooting, hadn't even tried more than once or twice. But not all team members needed to be good at that. Some teams had scientist member who couldn't shoot or fight. She could at least fight. And she was a technician, so she surely could be of use for a team, too, right?

Lorne smiled. "There's a lot to see. You'll like it."

"Then you think I have a chance?", she asked, sounding hopeful.

"Definitely. You can join my team right away", he said.

Amelia grinned, but the grin soon faded when she remembered that Major Lorne had lost his team during the explosion at the SGC. Lorne probably would be dead as well, if it wasn't for a small injury he had gotten on his previous mission. Dr. Lam had put him off duty. So he stayed in Atlantis while the rest of his team and several other Atlantis teams had gone on missions from the SGC.

"Major Lorne, this is Teyla. Are you in there? The door is locked."

"Yes, we're in here. Just a sec."

Amelia opened the door and Ronon and Teyla walked in. Teyla went over to Major Lorne while Ronon went straight to Amelia. His eyes travelled up and down her body. She felt heat well up inside of her at his gaze.

"You alright?", he asked when he seemed finished with his examination. Amelia blinked and came back to the present. He was just checking for injuries! No need to get all weak in the knees. But Ronon just had that effect on her. She had always liked him and thought that he was incredibly hot. That had only intensified since he actually seemed to notice her.

Ronon stared at her, waiting, for an answer.

"I'm fine", she quickly said and smiled at him.

Ronon returned her smile, feeling relieved to hear her words. He really had been worried about her. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for her to join an off-world team. She'd constantly be in danger. Well, it wasn't as if she asked for his opinion. She hadn't even told him that she was trying out to be a team member. Maybe she didn't think he'd like the idea. Well, he didn't! It wasn't that he didn't think she could handle herself. He knew she could. She was one hell of a fighter. It was what first attracted him to her. But he definitely didn't like the thought of having to worry about her whenever she was off-world and he wasn't with her. He sighed slightly and pushed the thoughts away. There was no use worrying about the future. He first had to keep her safe from those animals.

"Come on, let's go", he said handing her a gun.

Major Lorne took a p-90 from Teyla and watched as she handed a gun to the chinese team leader. Then he glanced at the two guys on the floor who hadn't even moved when Ronon and Teyla entered the room. Turning back to Teyla he shook his head. Giving those two weapons could prove very stupid. They obviously weren't right for this kind of job. Who knew what they'd do if they saw another dinosaur and had guns? They might shoot around blindly in their state of shock and hit someone else in the process.

"Let's just get them out of here."

Teyla nodded and went over to the two men. Kneeling down infront of them she started to talk to them in a soothing voice. She definitely was good with people.

A few minutes later they headed out of the room, Teyla and Major Lorne in the front, Ronon and Amelia at the back of the group.

----- -----

Fred Burkle looked at all the books infront of her. She was in the library of Wolfram and Hart, looking for information on a specific demon. She touched one of he books when a bright light suddenly erupted. She shielded her eyes quickly, wondering what was going on.

When the light faded Fred looked around startled. She was no longer in the library. There were no bookshelves. She was in a corridor of a building that looked very unfamiliar.

"Oh no", she muttered. This couldn't be happening. Not again! She had once fallen through a portal when she was in a library. Had the same happened again?

"Damn portals. And damn libraries", she muttered. She would never go into a library again! First she however had to get back home. But how? She felt panic well up inside of her.

"Breathe", she told herself and tried to calm down. At least this place didn't look as bad as the last one she ended up in. This was very modern. Nothing in Pylea had been modern at all, especially not the point of views of its inhabitants. Fred really hoped this place was different and that there was no slavery here.

She started to walk into one direction. Hopefully she'd meet someone soon. Preferably a human. But she didn't seem to be that lucky. A group of people walked around a corner, if you could call them people. They were demons of some sort and they were armed. Fred flinched. Somehow she felt like running away. But what kind of first impression would that make? She needed help. And who knew if there was anyone else here. Those demons might be the only living beings in this world.

"Hello", she said and waved slightly, trying to oppress her fear. "Could anyone please tell me where I am?"

The demons raised their weapons and came closer. Fred gulped.

"Please don't shoot. I'm unarmed." She slightly raised her arms.

One of the demons started to grin at her. "She's mine", he stated in a rough voice.

----- -----

"Wraith! There are Wraith in the city", Teyla called. She could sense them clearly, even though they had not been there moments ago.

"What?", Ronon muttered. "How the hell did they find us here?"

Lorne cursed. "I guess it has something to do with that ancient device."

Teyla nodded and then contacted the control room, warning them.

Major Lorne slowly turned around a corner and then froze. A woman was standing a few feet away, a group of Wraith coming towards her. He couldn't shoot, as the woman was between him and the Wraith.

"Get down!", he called.

The woman turned around, looked at him with fearful eyes, but dropped to the ground quickly. The Wraith were almost upon her. They had to stop them. He opened fire.

Teyla stepped next to him and started shooting as well. Ronon didn't take long to join them.

Fred lay on the ground and winced when the shooting started. It was really loud and she was afraid to get hit. But at least humans were here. She felt better knowing that those demons where not the only living beings in this world. She definitely didn't think she'd like them. She didn't like the sound of the one who had spoken and she definitely didn't want to be _his_, whatever that meant.

Pushing away all thoughts Fred started to crawl towards the humans. But then someone grabbed her foot and started to pull.

"Oh no, you don't", Lorne muttered rushing closer and shooting the Wraith that grabbed the woman in the head. All Wraith were on the ground now. But some were still moving. Ronon and Teyla took care of them.

Lorne knelt down next to the woman and offered her his hand.

"I'm Major Lorne, US Air Force. You're going to be okay."

Fred looked at him and took his hand. Somehow she had the feeling that she really would be ok now, which was stupid. She fell through a portal – again! Nothing was okay. But maybe these people would help her get home. And the guy was from the US Air Force, which meant she didn't end up in a demon dimension. But where was she?


	5. Chapter 5

**Day 6 – Cardiff (Wales – GB):**

Captain Jack Harkness rushed through the HUB, carrying a big cable and plugging it into one of the systems. The rift alarm was blaring loudly and people were running around wildly. This was simply outrageous. How were they supposed to get this under control when none of the new people sent over by Torchwood 1 in London seemed to have any clue what they were doing? He hated it when Torchwood 1 sent them new people. He hated it even more when they replaced him as the team leader. But what he hated most was the incompetence of these people. He had tried to give them a chance, he really had, especially after Ianto left and went back to London. He and Gwen needed help. And now that she was pregnant they needed it more than ever. But did Torchwood 1 simply sent them the people they didn't want anymore or was everyone from over there like this?

Jack sighed and barked a few orders. Obviously their new boss didn't seem to mind that he took control right now. The rift was acting up. Enormous amounts of power were strapped from it. But they didn't know where they were going or how to stop it. This really wasn't good. He missed Tosh more than ever right now. She would have figured this out, he was sure of it.

Another light wave erupted, blinding them all momentarily. Why was the rift doing this? Jack went closer to the machine connected to the rift and placed his hand on it while trying to figure this out. But he came up with nothing. He really could need some help right now. Where was the doctor? Surely he would notice if the rift went crazy and started to destroy the planet. Well, they weren't there yet, were they? There was still time to figure this out, right?

When another light wave started Jack shielded his eyes. Then he blinked. He was no longer in the HUB. He twirled around, taking in his surroundings. He was in a corridor. And the building he was in looked really high tech. He must have fallen through the rift. But where did he end up? Probably not on earth, he thought, cursing. He had often felt like just leaving Torchwood the past few days, since Torchwood 1's people took over. But this really was the worst time to do that. The rift was active, which meant that things from all kinds of places in space and time could end up in Cardiff or get sucked away, like he obviously had been.

Well, he better tried to figure out where he was. Maybe he could find a way back home. This planet might have space ships and let him borrow one. But there still was the probability that he didn't just end up in another place, but also in another time. Hopefully it was the past and not the future. If he was in the past he might have enough time to find a way back to the HUB, figure out what was causing all this and stop it before too much harm was done. If he was in the future however he really had a problem. He'd have to figure out how to fix his vortex manipulator or better find the doctor to get him back to his time, or well, the 21st century. It wasn't actually his time, since he was born in the 51st century. He however had spent more time in the 21st and especially 20th century, seeing as he lived through it all.

There was no time to dwell on these thoughts however. He had to figure out where he was. Walking through the corridor his long cloak flauntered behind him, as he came to a corner. Looking left Jack saw a huge dinosaur sauntering towards him.

"Woah", he called and stepped back, drawing his pistol and pressing himself against the wall.

The dinosaur snorted heavily, breathing out foul smelling air, as it reached the end of it's corridor. It glanced left and then right, into the corridor Jack was standing in, pressed against the wall, hoping not to be noticed.

Staring at the huge prehistoric animal Jack couldn't help but admire it. Tons of muscles under a beautiful greenish skin that seemed to shimmer in several different colours when light fell on it in the right way.

"_Do__ not move"_, a voice said, in a firm but not very loud tone, obviously trying not to startle the dinosaur.

As if he was planning to, Jack thought. He might not be able to actually die, but it would still hurt a lot if that dinosaur decided to stomp on him or worse, eat him. Would his lips grow back? He hadn't tried out that one and really wasn't eager to.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 6 –Atlantis corridors:**

Vala Mal Doran walked next to Teal'c, p-90 in hand. Since Cam was busy babysitting an ancient she and Teal'c were patrolling the corridors on their own.

"So, where are all those so-called dinosaurs?", she asked. They hadn't seen anything or anyone since they started patrolling. The civilians probably were all hiding under tables or something. But there should be some animals from earths past running around.

"What do they look like anyway?" Sometimes being on an alien planet sucked. You just weren't that familiar with it's history.

"Did you not see Jurassic Park?", Teal'c replied.

"No. Is that a movie?" She really did like watching movies. They were so much more fun than reading books.

Teal'c didn't answer, but instead held his hand up for silence. Then he silently walked to the edge of the corner a few feet away and peered around it. Vala was close behind him, glancing over his shoulder.

A man was pressed against the wall, a huge dinosaur next to him, sniffing and snorting.

"Do not move", Teal'c advised and raised his p-90.

The man shook his head. "Don't kill it", he mouthed, trying not to make much sound.

Teal'c raised his eyebrow, but pulled out a Zat gun. He wasn't sure why he shouldn't kill the dinosaur, but there was no time to argue. Maybe he could stun it. But if that didn't work he would kill it and dispose of the body by shooting it three times.

Jack was glad to see the man lowering his machine gun. It wasn't the dinosaurs fault that he ended up here after all. But the guy then pulled out another rather alien looking gun and shot the dinosaur. It hardly flinched. Instead it turned towards the shooter and started to move.

"That so isn't good", Vala muttered as Teal'c shot the dinosaur a second time and a third.

The dinosaur slowed down and then collapsed a few feet from Teal'c and Vala.

"Phew", Vala gasped. "That was close. And just so you know it, one more step and I would have shot it!"

Jack holstered his gun and walked towards them. Next to the dinosaur he knelt down and placed a hand on it. It was out cold, but still breathing.

"It's alive."

Vala stared at the man. "It should have disintegrated already", she muttered.

"These creatures seem to be affected differently by a Zat gun", Teal'c stated calmly.

"I can see that", Vala replied. "What do we do with it now?" She glanced from Teal'c to the stranger. Maybe he had an idea. He wanted the damn animal alive after all.

Jack shrugged. He'd send it home if he knew how, but he didn't. And besides, it wasn't really his problem. He had enough problems of his own, like getting home.

"I don't know, keep it as a pet", he suggested. It was kind of what he did with the last dinosaur he met. He let the pterodactyl fly around the HUB, hoping the rift would somehow take it back to where it came from.

Vala snorted. "Very funny." She glared at him slightly and put her hands on her hips. "And who are you supposed to be?" Probably one of those tree-hugging, animal loving doctors that lived in Atlantis. Though she had to admit that he was kind of hot.

"Captain Jack Harkness", he introduced himself with a flirtatious smile. "And who…"

Jack didn't get to finish as something moved very fast, jumped and pushed him to the ground while swinging sharp claws.

Shots erupted and whatever attacked him rushed off.

"What the hell was that?", Jack asked, pushing himself up and pressing against the wall while pulling out his gun.

"I do not know", Teal'c replied.

"Another dinosaur?", Vala suggested.

"That was no dinosaur", Jack protested while getting up with a wince. The creature's claws had shredded his shirt and broken the skin of his chest. But luckily the wounds weren't that deep.

They all looked around wearily, instinctively standing back to back.

"General O'Neill, Doctor Zelenka, this is Teal'c. We have encountered an unknown creature", Teal'c then reported, tapping his radio. "It moved very fast."

"_Are you near the living quarters, Teal'c?_", Zelenka asked. _"I have noticed something that moves very fast, but is too small to be a dinosaur, in that area. And I see three humans there."_

"Yep, that's us", Vala butted in.

"_Are you alright?"_, General O'Neill wanted to know. _"And who is with you?"_

"We are all alive, O'Neill. Captain Harkness is with us. He has been injured. We will take him to the infirmary now."

"Ah, that's nothing", Jack muttered.

"_Teal'c, there is some__thing moving towards you again",_ came Zelenka's voice.

Teal'c and Vala fired their p-90's as the predator rushed at them and jumped. Jack fired his revolver and the thing dropped to the ground infront of them. It was bleeding from several wounds and didn't breathe anymore.

"_Teal'c, Vala, is everything alright?"_

Teal'c looked up from the creature when he heard the Generals voice.

"We are fine. The creature is dead."

"_I have just been informed by Colonel Sheppard that there are more than just dinosaurs in the city. Two human-sized predators from the future have been __sighted. They apparently evolved from bats and use echo-location to find their prey", _Dr. Zelenka informed them.

"It would have been nice to know that a little bit sooner", Vala muttered.

"One of them is dead", Teal'c simply stated.

"_Good. __Sheppard's team killed the other one. Get the Captain to the infirmary. And be careful."_

"Aren't we always", Vala replied with a grin.

"There is an unconscious dinosaur in this corridor as well, O'Neill", Teal'c reported.

"Yes, could you please send someone to take care of it? We really need to accompany the Captain", Vala butted in and smiled cheekily.

Teal'c and Vala could hear the General's groan over the radio.

"Thanks", Vala said and tapped her radio. "One less thing to worry about", she stated and pushed the two men away from the creatures. Teal'c didn't even raise an eyebrow anymore. He knew Vala well enough by now.

Jack chuckled. He liked that woman already.

"So, where exactly are we?", he then asked, deciding that it was time to get some information.

"No clue. We just got here today and this city is like a maze", Vala complained. "Let's find a transporter."

"No, I mean the city. What city is this? On what planet? And while we're at it, could you also tell me the year?"

Teal'c and Vala both stopped and stared at him.

"You mean you don't know that?" The p-90's were raised and pointing at him. This so wasn't going well.

"Woah, now, easy there. I thought we were buddies….", he said, slightly raising his hands to show that he was not a threat.

"He's not with the Stargate program", Vala said.

"He must have gotten here the same way the animals did", Teal'c stated looking at the man closely. He wasn't wearing the typical Atlantis or military clothes. But he could have just come back from the mainland when the alarm went off. He was human and a Captain. It had been reasonable to believe he worked here.

"I kind of fell through a rift in time and space and ended up here. I'm not going to cause any trouble. I just want to go back home."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"A rift in time and space?", he inquired. "We should talk to Colonel Carter about that. After we went to the infirmary."

Jack simply nodded. The black guy with the strange mark on his forehead lowered his gun slightly, which definitely was an improvement.

They started walking again. "So, which planet?"

"We are on a planet called earth."

Jack turned and stared at the guy. "We're on earth?" Well, one less problem to worry about. But that meant that he was in the future. There were no cities like this on earth in the 21st century.

Teal'c nodded.

"What year?"

"2009"

Jacks head snapped to the guy. "You're kidding. Humanity doesn't have cities like this in the 21st century!"

"And how would you know that?", Vala wanted to know as they reached a transporter and entered.

"Well, apparently I only fell a short distance through space. I was on earth before, in Cardiff, Wales. I'm working for Torchwood." Maybe they had heard of Torchwood. It didn't sound like they were surprised about the prospect of life on other planets after all. Maybe they worked for UNIT?

"Torchwood? Isn't that a TV show?", Vala wanted to know.

Teal'c frowned and turned to her. "I believe you mean Everwood."

"Yes, right. Not the same then."

"Definitely not", Jack stated sounding slightly offended. Obviously they hadn't heard of Torchwood. So they weren't UNIT. Then who were these people? And where exactly where they?

The transporter stopped and they walked out, arriving next to the infirmary. Teal'c knocked and the door soon opened.

Dr. Lam came towards them. "He's the injured?, she asked gesturing at Jack. She had been informed about the groups arrival by Dr. Zelenka.

"It's just a scratch actually", Jack answered.

"Jack?", a voice called from further away. He looked around and then started to grin widely.

"Martha Jones", he exclaimed and rushed towards her.

Martha's face lit up in a huge smile as she rushed forward as well.

Jack spread his arms widely and welcomed her into them, lifting her up slightly. They both laughed happily.

When he finally let go of her she still grinned.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were still in Cardiff."

"And I thought you were working for UNIT. This isn't UNIT, is it?" Maybe he had been wrong after all.

"No. I got a new job", she said with a smile. The smile however vanished quickly. "You're hurt."

"It's nothing."

"Yeah, right…"

"I assume you know eachother", Dr. Lam asked, interrupting the happy reunion.

"Yes, we do. I'll take care of this, if it's alright?"

"Sure", Dr. Lam answered and then left.

Jack smiled and then glanced around. Teal'c and Vala were busy talking to a guy.

"Come on, Jack." Martha took his hand and dragged him to a more private area.

"Sit", she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am", Jack answered chuckling slightly.

Martha smirked. It really was good to see Jack again and to share this all with him. It was her second day in Atlantis and this all still seemed so surreal. Okay, she had been working for UNIT before, which dealt with aliens as well. And she had been travelling with the doctor. So she had seen a lot of stuff in her life already. But Atlantis! The city was the stuff of legends.

Besides that the Stargate program would give her the chance to travel to other planets again and still help defending earth in her own time. She was really glad that her CO at UNIT had suggested her for this job. After a huge explosion, that officially was said to be caused by a disgruntled former employee setting a bomb, the Stargate program needed new staff quickly. She got suggested, went for an interview and started work the next day already.

"Take that off", Martha said while getting some disinfectant ready.

Jack smirked at her in a flirty way. "Admit it, you've always wanted me to do that", he said while getting off his coat, shirt and t-shirt.

Martha chuckled. "Of course, Jack. I haven't been thinking about anything else since we met", she answered sarcastically. Well, he wasn't completely wrong. She had been thinking about a shirt-less Jack occasionally, especially since their very brief kiss the last time they met. Not that he really kissed her back. He probably – hopefully – was too surprised to react. It still had felt nice, though.

"I've actually been dreaming about getting you to strip for me just so I can patch you up", she added.

He still smirked. "I knew it."

Martha chuckled and shook her head. Jack would never change. And she was glad about it. After everything he had been through in his life it was almost a miracle that he was still the same happy and charming person.

Martha started to clean the claw wounds. Jack winced slightly.

"It's not that bad", she said when she was done and went to get some ointment and a bandage.

"That's what I said", he insisted. "And it's not like it could kill me anyway", he joked.

Martha smirked.

"So, no instant healing?"

"Not unless I die."

Martha frowned. She didn't like the thought. It meant that Jack felt all the usual pain when being hurt. It surely had been a very painful year for him when he was captured by the master. She didn't know exactly what the master did to him. Noone ever really spoke about the year that never was. But she was sure that it was bad.

She sighed and tried to push away the memories.

Jack looked at Martha. Somehow her demeanour had changed. He wondered what she was thinking about, but decided against asking.

"So, what's this place?", he asked instead, while Martha finished bandaging him.

"You mean you don't know?"

"No. I fell through the rift and ended up here."

Martha raised an eyebrow. "You fell through the rift and end up in Atlantis of all places?"

Jack stared at her. "Atlantis? Really?"

Martha grinned. "Yes, we're in Atlantis. It really exists. It just wasn't built by humans or sank on earth. It was in another Galaxy. But now the city is back on earth."

"Wow." Jack looked around even more appreciatively now. "Sounds like a great story. You'll have to tell me everything about it."

"You really want me to risk my job on my second day already? This is all classified. I already told you too much anyway."

"Oh come on. Nothing is too classified for me. I'm probably the most classified person on the planet."

Martha had to laugh at that. He had a point.

"There you go. All patched up."

"Thanks. I feel so much better already", Jack stated in his flirty tone.

Martha rolled her eyes.

"So, who's in charge here? There are some things that need to be taken care of. The rift being one of them. If it hasn't been closed yet we need to figure out how to do that." And he really doubted the idiots from Torchwood 1 had figured out anything yet.

"The rift is active?", Martha asked.

He nodded. "Something weird happened with it. Light waves erupted. It was as if energy was pulled from the rift. But we couldn't figure out how and by whom."

Martha frowned. "We have a malfunctioning ancient device here. You end up here and dinosaurs as well, which means travel through time and space. I'd be really surprised if that ancient device and the rift weren't somehow connected."

Jack smiled at her. She really was clever. He had always admired that about her.

"Come on, let's go", he said while putting on his shirt, leaving the t-shirt and coat behind.

They stepped into the main room of the infirmary and Martha quickly went over to Colonel Mitchell who had been in charge of the infirmaries safety since he got there.

"Colonel Mitchell, we need to talk to General O'Neill. We might have some information concerning the current situation."

Cam glanced at the young doctor who had approached him and Sheila before.

"What kind of information?"

"Shall we waste time explaining it all twice?", Jack asked. "Or hurry and save the planet?"

Cam stared at him with a frown. "The whole planet is in danger?"

"Possibly."

"Alright." He quickly contacted the control room and handed Jack his radio.


	6. Chapter 6

**Day 6 – recruits team 2:**

John Sheppard looked around and cursed.

"When did you last see him?", he asked.

Mac thought about the events of the past minutes.

"I don't know, right before you arrived, I think."

"He tried to sneak back into the secret room before. Maybe he's there", Becker said.

John quickly checked, but there was noone besides McKay and Cadman in the room. He cursed again and tapped his radio.

"Lt. Cane, do you read?"

Silence.

"Lieutenant Cane. This is Colonel Sheppard. Do you read?"

No answer.

"He probably ran off frightened when he saw the animals", Rachel muttered.

The others glanced at her. Jason and Mac nodded. That sounded like him.

John sighed. A huge mouth and nothing at all to back it up. Great. The guy was so out!

"We can't look for him right now. We need to go to the infirmary and find those animals." He hated to leave the Lieutenant out here alone. But he had other and especially more important things to do. But John still hated it and felt responsible for Cane.

He quickly contacted General O'Neill and informed him that they had a missing recruit running around the city. The General didn't seem happy, but promised to have all teams keep an eye out for him.

"Let's go", John then told the others and they started towards the next transporter. John went first, Mac and Becker last, as they had guns, too. Rachel walked next to Stephen in the middle, looking at him concerned. His arm was still bleeding and he looked rather pale.

"How are you doing?", she asked silently.

Stephen looked to her, again feeling slightly stunned by her beauty. Why was she a soldier? Not that the clothes she was wearing didn't suit her. She looked stunning just the way she was.

"I've been worse", he replied with a slight smirk. It wasn't a lie. His arm hurt, his chest ached and he had a headache, but at least he wasn't lying on the ground unconscious.

Rachel smiled slightly. He definitely wasn't the whiney type. Cane probably would have been crying and lying on the ground. They might have had to carry him. She sighed about herself. Cane was missing and she was thinking badly about him. Well, he deserved it, didn't he? He got them into the whole mess and then he ran off. She hadn't seen a huge animal carry him off. She was sure at least one of them would have noticed that.

They almost reached the transporter, almost. A big dinosaur was blocking the last five feet and it was fighting with a predator.

When the Colonel came to a stop Becker quickly glanced behind them, to make sure nothing was approaching from the back, before going to the Colonels side. He saw a dinosaur and a predator fight.

"What the hell is the smaller thing?", John muttered.

Becker glanced at Stephen who nodded.

"It's a predator. Very fast and deadly", Stephen answered.

"I can see _that_", John muttered. The way the predator was fighting the bigger dinosaur showed that it was a vicious and very deadly creature.

The predator bit down on the dinosaur and pulled a chunk of flesh out. Then it hopped down from the dinosaur and faced the group of people.

John didn't hesitate and fired his p-90. The predator tried to get away, moving faster than John would have thought possible. Becker and MacKenzie shot as well and together they managed to kill the creature.

The dinosaur was still breathing, but it was badly wounded and lay on the floor.

Stephen approached it, putting a hand on its head.

"I don't think it's a good idea to get so close", John muttered a little uncertain.

Becker just shrugged. He was used to that kind of behaviour by now. Give those people a chance and they'd sacrifice their life for one of the dinosaurs. Stephen obviously fit well in with Abby, Connor & Cutter. He winced slightly, when he thought of Cutter. He had been assigned to protect them and Cutter had died under his watch. He still felt responsible. And he missed the man, despite all his annoying behaviours.

"It's dying. And it wouldn't have attacked us anyway. It's an herbivore."

"Ah", John muttered. Then he started to wonder what to do with the dying dinosaur.

Stephen got up and went over to Becker. Taking his gun he shot the dinosaur in the head.

"Letting it die slowly and painfully would have been cruel", he said while handing the gun back.

John nodded and looked at the man. "So, you know a lot about these creatures." He gestured at the dead dinosaur and then at the predator a few feet away.

"Yes." He didn't explain how or why.

"So, what exactly are those things?"

"They are predators from the future. They evolved from some sort of bat", Becker said.

John turned to look at him. "You know about these creatures, too."

Jason nodded. He could have kept quiet and just let Stephen explain everything, which meant he wouldn't have given away classified information himself. But letting someone else talk about it wouldn't be better anyway. Besides, everything around here was classified. It wasn't like these people would go to the press or something.

"We've seen those creatures before. We've been working for an organisation that deals with them."

John just nodded. He would have to find out exactly what those two did for a living before they ended up here and especially what they knew about things from the future. He really hated anything involving time travel. It reminded him of the time he was stuck in the future version of an abandoned Atlantis with a hologram of Rodney. That definitely wasn't one of his favourite days.

He pushed away those thoughts. They had more important things to do right now.

"We'll talk about this later."

He then contacted the control room and told Zelenka about the future predators.

"I saw two of them before all the creatures ran off", Becker said.

John repeated that to Zelenka. Then they stepped around the dead dinosaur towards the transporter.

They didn't get far before a bright light blinded them momentarily.

Jason held his gun firmly.

"That's what happened before the creatures appeared."

John frowned, gripping his p-90 tighter.

The moment the light disappeared John saw four Wraith standing a few feet away.

"Oh no", he muttered while opening fire immediately.

"Get in the transporter. NOW!"

Mac and Jason fired as well while the others went into the transporter first.

"What are those things?", Becker wanted to know.

"Life-sucking evil aliens. Do not let them touch you - ever!", John instructed.

Mac didn't have time to process that she was just facing aliens. A Wraith stunner hit her and she sank to the ground unconscious.

"Crap. Get her in the transporter", John barked. Three Wraith were down, but one was still approaching them, using another as shield.

Rachel and Jason leaned down and grabbed Mac, getting her into the transporter as quickly as possible. Stephen took Jason's gun in the meantime to give them cover.

Once the Wraith was close enough it shoved the dead Wraith he used as a shield towards John. He could see that the Wraith was hit as well. It was bleeding and desperate to feed.

When the dead Wraith hit him John pushed it away as quickly as possible.

Stephen shot the white-haired alien twice, then he was out of bullets and there obviously was no time to reload.

John was about to shoot the Wraith when Captain Berenson threw herself at it, pushing it away from Stephen. They started to fight and John was afraid to hit her when shooting. Things didn't get better when Captain Becker joined in.

"Crap", John muttered.

"Drop down", he ordered feeling rather agitated. These two had no idea what they were dealing with. If the Wraith grabbed one of them he could start feeding. John so didn't want to see that happen.

Luckily both Berenson and Becker seemed to follow orders rather well and soon dropped down so he could shoot the damn Wraith.

When the Wraith lay on the ground dead John let out a sigh of relief.

"That was close", he said. Then he tapped his radio. "Rodney, why is that device still on? Shut it down", he barked while getting into the transporter. Whoever came to get rid of the creatures bodies would have to deal with the Wraith as well.

"_We're trying"_, came the answer.

"Try a little harder! We have dinosaurs, dangerous creatures from the future and Wraith in the city. I don't care how. Just shut it down. NOW!"

John pressed the button for the infirmary and then faced the others. They were all staring at him.

"What? He needs a little encouragement. McKay works best under pressure", he said with a shrug.

Becker smirked at that.

Rachel was kneeling down and checking Macs vitals. "Is she going to be okay?", she asked.

John nodded. "Just stunned. The Wraith use stunners so they don't hurt their victims. They want them strong and healthy. That way there is more to suck out of them."

"What do you mean by 'suck out of them'?", Rachel asked. She really didn't like what she was hearing. She had felt a little excited when she heard the word alien earlier. She really was back in the fight. But now she did feel a little worried, too.

"Wraith don't eat like humans. They feed off others, by literally sucking the life out of them through their hands." There was silence as the others processed that information.

"Sounds bad", Rachel finally commented.

John nodded. "It definitely isn't fun. Trust me." John knew what he was talking about. It definitely hadn't been fun when Todd fed on him. And it never was fun to watch either.

They stepped out of the transporter. John first, his p-90 raised high. He then knocked on the infirmary door and it soon opened.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 6 – control room:**

General O'Neill was still standing next to Dr. Zelenka. They kept telling teams where to go and warned others when animals approached.

"There are four animals in this corridor", Zelenka pointed out. "These teams are closest."

Before Jack could say anything he heard Mitchell over his radio.

"_General O'Neill, this is Colonel Mitchell. I think more than just dinosaurs appeared in the city."_

Jack frowned. "Why am I not surprised", he muttered. "What did you find, Colonel?" He tapped his radio and quickly turned to Zelenka. "Send the teams over."

Zelenka nodded and did what he was told.

_"Some trigger-happy humans. And I think two ancients", _came Cams voice.

Jacks mouth opened slightly. Did he hear right? Ancients?

"You mean actual ancients? Living and breathing ones?" Could they be that lucky? Well, of course it wasn't good if Ancients got here through time travel. But they would be the first decent thing the device brought here. They still had so many questions… Sam and Daniel would be thrilled.

_"Yes. One of them has been shot though. I'm in the infirmary with them now."_

Jack sighed. Of course an ancient got here and was shot right away. He rubbed his neck out of habit and sighed.

"Okay, stay with them. I was meaning to send someone to the infirmary anyway, incase one of our dinosaurs decides to check out that part of the city."

_"Understood."_

Jack turned his attention back to the screen and his own surroundings. Zelenka looked at him.

"The teams are on their way", he said and looked at the screen again. Jack nodded.

"Oh no", Zelenka then muttered and tapped his radio quickly.

"Major Lorne, there is a prehistoric animal coming towards you."

_"No kidding." _They heard gunfire and then nothing.

"Who is nearby? We need to send them reinforcements", Jack stated. Zelenka quickly checked and then contacted the closest people.

"It's Ronon and Teyla. They are on their way."

"_Zelenka, where is it?"_, came Major Lorne's voice.

_"It moved on, Major Lorne" _, Zelenka answered, feeling relieved to hear the Majors voice, even though he could see that all dots representing humans were still there.

"Stay where you are. Ronon and Teyla are on their way to you with weapons."

There were a few minutes during which nothing special happened. Jack got himself some water. His thoughts were racing. There was so much going on again. Putting the glass away he contacted Sam.

"Carter, how are you doing with that device?"

"_We're working on it, sir. I'll let you know the minute we shut it off."_ Jack sighed. He wanted to know what was taking so long, but knew that he was only keeping Sam from doing her job by talking to her.

A second later Teyla informed them that Wraith were in the city. Things were getting better and better. "Warn everyone", he told Zelenka while rubbing his tired eyes.

A few minutes later Jack heard Teal'c over the radio.

"_General O'Neill, Doctor Zelenka, this is Teal'c. We have encountered an unknown creature__. It moved very fast."_

"Are you near the living quarters, Teal'c?", Zelenka asked. "I have noticed something that moves very fast, but is too small to be a dinosaur, in that area. And I see three humans there."

"Yep, that's us", Vala butted in.

Jack looked at the screen where Zelenka indicated Teal'c and the others were standing.

"Are you alright?", he then asked, feeling a little worried about his friend. He knew Teal'c and the rest of SG-1 could take care of themselves, but he still worried about them whenever they were out there, risking their lives while he was stuck in relative safety making decisions.

"And who is with you?"

"_We are all alive, O'Neill. Captain Harkness is with us. He has been injured. We will take him to the infirmary now."_Jack didn't have a clue who Captain Harkness was, but he just came to Atlantis a few days ago and didn't know half the staff by name.

"Teal'c, there is something moving towards you again", Zelenka said and Jack watched a dot move very fast towards the three dots that were standing for Teal'c, Vala and Harkness.

They heard gunfire over the radio. Then nothing.

"Teal'c, Vala, is everything alright?", Jack asked. He knew they were still alive, as their dots were still on the screen, but they could be injured.

"_We are fine. The creature is dead."_Jack let out a sigh of relief and then noticed that Zelenka was talking to someone else over his radio. Hopefully there were no bad news.

"I have just been informed by Colonel Sheppard that there are more than just dinosaurs in the city. Two human-sized predators from the future have been sighted. They apparently evolved from bats and use echo-location to find their prey",Dr. Zelenka said moments later, informing him, as well as Teal'c and Vala.

"_It would have been nice to know that a little bit sooner",_ came Vala's reply. Jack smirked. That's what he usually thought. Information often reached them all a little bit late.

"_One of them is dead",_ Teal'c simply stated.

"Good. Sheppard's team killed the other one", Zelenka said.

"Get the Captain to the infirmary. And be careful", Jack added.

"_Aren't we always",_ Vala replied, which made Jack chuckle.

"_There is an unconscious dinosaur in this corridor as well, O'Neill",_ Teal'c reported.

"_Yes, could you please send someone to take care of it? We really need to accompany the Captain"_, Vala said.

Jack groaned. What were they supposed to do with an unconscious dinosaur?

"_Thanks"_, Vala added.

Jack turned to face Zelenka.

"Dr., what do you usually do with unconscious dinosaurs around here?", he asked in a sarcastic tone.

Zelenka stared at him as if he lost his mind. "We don't usually have dinosaurs in Atlantis."

Jack sighed. "Send a team."

"To do what?"

"I don't know. Put it in a holding cell or something. For now." Sam would figure out a way to send it back home – he hoped.

Zelenka nodded, picked a team and contacted them. Jack already pitied them.

About ten minutes later more dinosaurs had to be moved. Most were dead. For the first time today Jack was glad that he wasn't part of one of the teams. He might have to find a way to move dinosaurs then. As it was he just had to give the order to do it. How wasn't his problem.

Wraith bodies had to be moved as well. And there apparently were some humans in the city from a race called Genii, two ancients and some other humans as well. Jack felt ready for the device to be shut down. He was just about to contact Sam again when he heard Mitchell's voice over the radio.

"_General O'Neill, I have someone here claiming to have some information about the current situation."_

"Put him on", Jack replied, hoping to finally get some information on how to shut that damn device down.

"_General O'Neill,__ this is Captain Jack Harkness. I work for an organisation named Torchwood. We're dealing with aliens in Wales among other thing. But most importantly we are observing a rift in time and space that runs through Cardiff." _

"Hold on a second, a rift in time and space?" Jack asked. That so didn't sound good.

"_Yes. It went active today. We have not been able to figure out why. While working on it I ended up here. I think the rift and the device you have in this city are somehow connected."_

Jack frowned. He had no idea what to do with that information. But he knew who would.

"You should talk to Colonel Carter about this. She is currently working on shutting down the device."

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 6 – secret room:**

"I don't believe this", Rodney McKay shouted.

"What?", Cadman wanted to know, glancing from Colonel Carter to him.

"It still won't shut off", he complained.

"Can't you just… like pull the plug or something?", Cadman suggested. They were in here for a while now and nothing the Colonel or Rodney did worked. Colonel Carter was on her laptop now, checking some reading, trying to figure out what exactly the device was doing and why it wouldn't turn off.

Rodney glared at her. Yeah, right, she probably should have just stayed quiet. It surely wasn't that easy. Then he held something up for her to see.

"I just did. That's the power source. I managed to extract it after some difficulties. But the device is still working!"

Cadman frowned. "How is that possible? And does that mean we can't shut it down?"

"I don't know", Rodney admitted, looking rather startled.

"It is getting power from somewhere else", Sam said, still looking at her laptop. "I just can't figure out from where. It's not from Atlantis, or any cities nearby."

"_Colonel Carter, this is Captain Jack Harkness. I've been told that you are the person I need to talk to about that device of yours. I'm working for an organisation __called Torchwood. We're dealing with anything alien. Anyway… there is a rift in time and space that goes through Cardiff. It is usually dormant, but has recently been activated. We couldn't figure out why. But now I think it has something to do with that malfunctioning device."_

Sam listened closely to what the man said.

"A rift in time and space. Hm… interesting", she said and checked something on her laptop.

"A what?", Rodney wanted to know and went over to Sam, peering at her screen.

"There it is", Sam said. Once she widened the search for the source of the power to Europe she found it.

"Oh my god. What is it?", Rodney wanted to know. "Those are enormous amounts of power."

"_It's a rift in time and space"_, Jack Harkness repeated. _"It must have been opened when your device was turned on."_

"It's not our device", Rodney snapped.

"Rodney", Sam muttered. "How do we cap the connection?", Sam asked sounding urgent. If this kept going there was no way to know what might happen.

The room started to shake.

"_Oh no. It's the rift. It's getting out of control"_, Jack stated. _"I need to get back to Cardiff."_

"You could shut it down if you were there?", Sam asked while holding onto her laptop tightly. The trembling was getting worse. The Daedalus was still in orbit, so it could beam someone anywhere on the planet.

"I hate earthquakes", Rodney muttered.

"_Maybe",_ came the answer. _"I'm not sure yet how to cap the connection, but I'm of no use here!"_

Sam was about to contact the Daedalus when the trembling suddenly stopped and the device shut down.

"What?", Rodney muttered and walked back to the device.

"Don't touch it", Sam called.

Rodney turned around and glared at her. "As if I would turn it on again."

"You have the gene. I think that's what might have triggered it in the first place. We don't want to risk anything, do we?"

"_Did you shut it down?"_ , Jack Harkness asked.

"Well, it shut itself down somehow", Sam answered.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

So, that's it for now. I hope everything turned out alright. So much happened at almost the same time in different places. It got a bit complicated to get it all together. ;-)

I hope you like it. The next chapter will hopefully be up soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**Day 6 – Cardiff – alternate reality:**

„It's getting stronger", Mickey Smith reported. He was looking at some readings on one of Torchwood 3's computers screens. Torchwood 3 had informed them that the rift was giving off some unusual energy bursts. Once he had run the information they sent through Torchwood 1's database Mickey realized that these energy reading were similar to what they picked up the last time they travelled from one reality to another. He had immediately informed Pete and Rose Tyler. Of course Rose had insisted to go to Cardiff right away. Anything that might provide a way back home was checked out at once. She simply never gave up hope.

Rose smiled when she heard Mickey's words. This was good, she just knew it. Over the past years she had hoped so often to find a way home, a way back to the doctor. It had never worked out, but this time it would. She could feel it in every fibre of her being.

Putting on some 3-D glasses Rose grinned widely.

"Mickey, check this out", she said and put the glasses on his nose.

Mickey smiled. It was good to see Rose so happy again. She had been so different since she came here. He missed the old Rose badly. It was nice to see part of that Rose again now. He however hoped that she wouldn't be disappointed. Sure, there were void particles here, but that didn't mean they found a way to go home. If there was a way to go to another reality – which he still wasn't convinced of - they didn't know where they'd end up. There were lots of realities. There really was no way to know which reality they'd end up in.

Rose stepped to another PC. "This is it. Mom, Dad, I'm going home", Rose announced.

"Are you sure, Rose, honey?", her mother asked. She and Pete were on the screen, talking to them over a life feed from London.

"Do you even know how? Or where you will end up? The rift is dangerous. Pete, say something."

"Mom, calm down. I know this is going to work. I can feel it."

"You can _feel_ it???", Jackie exclaimed. "You're willing to mess around with the rift based on a _feeling_?"

Rose sighed. She shouldn't have opened the link to her parents. Of course her mother would make a fit. But she wanted to say goodbye.

"Mom, you said yourself that I have changed. You were right, I have." It actually scared her most of the time. She had changed after she became Bad Wolf and she had no idea what to do about it. She needed the doctor.

"Just trust me when I tell you that this is going to work."

Mickey stepped next to Rose and put an arm around her. "Of course it will", he said, even though he was far from believing it. He just wanted to reassure Jackie. She was almost like a mother to him by now.

"And just incase something doesn't go exactly as planned I'll be there to take care of Rose", he promised.

"Thanks Mickey", Pete Tyler said. He was glad Mickey would go with Rose. He knew there was no way to make her stay here and he didn't want her to go alone.

Jackie sighed. She knew as well, that it was pointless to try and make Rose change her mind. She had accepted a while ago that Rose would go back whenever she got the chance. She just wished they could be sure Rose would get to the doctor safely.

Rose glanced at Mickey and smiled at him, glad that he would come with her. She really had missed him while they were stuck in different realities.

"We have to go now. It's time", she then said. "I love you, Mom, Dad. Give Tony a kiss from me."

"Bye you two. I love you and be safe!"

After a few more goodbyes Rose turned the pc off, then glanced to Mickey.

"Let's open the rift. Tell the Torchwood 3 team to be ready to close it as soon as we're gone. I'll start to open it."

Mickey nodded and left. Rose started the opening process and entered her code. Luckily her code could override almost anything Torchwood related. Otherwise they would have had to ask Torchwood 3 for help.

Mickey came back with several very alarmed looking people.

"You're opening the rift. Why?", the leader asked.

"We're going home", Rose simply stated as the rift opened. Wind erupted and the Hub started to shake slightly.

Rose grinned widely and took Mickey's hand.

Mickey gulped and held onto Rose. He really hoped they'd survive this. Turning to Rose he noticed that she started to glow slightly. His eyes widened. Then it felt like he was being sucked away, twirled around and shaken through. A few seconds later – or were it minutes, hours or even days? – he felt solid ground under his feet again. He groaned. A ride on a roller coaster was nothing against this!

He just began to feel glad to be standing again when the whole room started to shake.

"Oh no, it's getting out of control", Rose muttered next to him in a strange kind of voice and let go of his hand. He turned to look at her and she began to glow even brighter.

"Rose!", he called. She seemed to smile at him, but didn't say anything. The smile calmed him down a little, but not enough. Then the trembling stopped. She was closing the rift. He didn't know how, but he was sure of it.

Then the glowing stopped and Rose collapsed. Mickey made a step forward and caught her before she hit the floor. They sank to the ground slowly and Mickey gently held her.

"Rose. Rose, can you hear me?", he asked. Then he looked around, to see where they were and if there was someone around who could help him.

They were still in the HUB, but other people were in it. He knew some of them. They were stationed in Torchwood London in the other reality.

"I need some help", he called, ignoring the guns pointed at them.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 6 – Atlantis – conference room:**

Jack sighed. It was getting late already. The sun was down and normal people surely had long gone home. Not him. He was stuck in a conference room again. Well, they did have a lot to talk about.

"So, Carter… please tell me you can send all the people and animals back to their own times", he stated.

There was some chatting and objecting.

Jack held his hand up and looked rather annoyed. "People, can we _please_ all calm down", he said with another sigh. He really was tired and wanted to finish this as quickly as possible.

"I'm not sure I can send them back. I think the ancient device that brought them here never worked properly in the first place", Sam answered once everyone was quiet.

Jack wasn't surprised at all. This wasn't the first time a time-altering device didn't do more than make a mess. He remembered well the time he and Teal'c were the only ones remembering that they were in a time-loop. Repeating one day over and over again had almost driven him crazy.

"Besides that, the damage has been done already. By pulling people out of their own time timelines have been altered."

"Oh no, don't tell me what that means…", Jack muttered. Even he knew by now what the results of messing with time were.

"Several alternate realities have probably been created", Rodney McKay stated.

Jack groaned.

"Since the damage has been done already…", John Sheppard butted in. "We could just keep them here, right?"

All heads turned to him.

"I mean, sending Ford back for example would just be… wrong!" John had been shocked, but delighted to see his old team member again, especially since this was the normal Ford, not 'enzyme-junkie-Ford'. Sending him back in time would mean he would end up the same way he did. They might as well shoot him. That would be nicer.

"I agree", Teyla said. "It would be cruel to send him back, knowing what would await him."

Jack glanced at the files of the people that had appeared in Atlantis. Lt. Aiden Ford's was among them. Jack remembered now what he read about the guy before coming to the conference room. He winced. Yeah, they couldn't send him back. And like Sheppard said, the damage was done.

"Alright, he stays", Jack stated. "But that doesn't mean the rest will stay as well."

The others nodded. Ford was one of them, the others weren't. They didn't know much about their situations yet.

"We'll talk to the 'arrivals', find out where they are from, who they are and if we can send them home." He pushed the files over to Sheppard, Mitchell, Lorne and Sam.

"Before that we need to talk to the new recruits. The ones that passed get the whole truth about our current situation. They get a room and we'll talk about teams tomorrow." Right now he was too tired and he still had to talk to Mac.

He shoved some more files towards Sam, Daniel, Teyla, Sheppard, Lorne, Vala and McKay.

"How come I get the Russians and Chinese?", Rodney asked, not sounding happy at all.

Jack smirked slightly. "They aren't on my list of favourites", he stated.

Cam chuckled slightly. Obviously McKay wasn't on the list of the Generals favourites either.

He then glanced at his file. There were a few papers in there. But besides the word 'ancients' they were blank.

"Concentrate on the two ancients, Mitchell. If you get them to cooperate with us we might learn a lot from them."

Cam nodded. "One of them was still in surgery when I left the infirmary. I'll check on her and her sister right away."

Daniel was a little disappointed that he wasn't the one assigned to the ancients. But he guessed it was a good idea to send someone they already met. He surely would get a chance to talk to them sooner or later. Glancing at his files he saw that he would be able to give Cassie and Jack the good news. The rest would get bad news.

"I have Russians, too", he then stated in an attempt to calm McKay down, who still looked rather sullen. "And by the looks of it I got the ones we're kicking out."

Jack nodded. "Since you speak russian I thought you might be able to tell them 'get the hell out of here' in their own language, so that there won't be any misunderstandings." He smirked.

Daniel rolled his eyes.

Vala chuckled and glanced at her own file. She would be talking to a Captain Rachel Berenson. That was it, just one person. Why didn't she get more than one? She was about to ask when the General spoke again.

"Sheppard, find out more about the organisation Becker and one of the arrivals worked for."

"Yes, sir."

"Carter, I want to know what exactly this Torchwood is and if that rift-thingy is going to cause us more trouble."

"Understood, sir."

"Alright, everything else can wait until the morning." Jack got up, gathered his file of Mac and headed for the door.

Once Jack was outside Rodney groaned. "I don't think he likes me."

John clapped him on the back and smirked.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 6 – Atlantis – ****Sheppard's office:**

The new recruits were all waiting in one room. John stepped in and looked around.

"Becker, with me."

Jason got up quickly. They had all been waiting for about an hour now and he was glad to finally hear if he made it. He thought he had done a pretty fine job considering all the strange stuff that happened. But he still felt a little nervous.

They entered an office. Sheppard sat down behind his desk, Jason infront of it.

"Well… I'm going to make this short. Welcome to the Stargate program", John said and then smiled.

Jason couldn't help but return the smile. He might not have cared much if he got the job in the first place, but since he learned more about all of this he really wanted to get in.

"I'm sure you already figured out that aliens are real by now, since we had some in the city today. It really wasn't part of the simulations and it definitely wasn't a hoax. There is life on other planets. Some races are nice and friendly, others aren't."

"Like the Wraith", Jason stated.

"Exactly. You'll soon get a full debrief on all alien races we have encountered so far."

Wow, this really was big, Jason thought. Aliens were real, he had seen some today and would see a lot more. Luckily he always had had an open mind and loved adventures. This promised to be one big adventure. Surely a dangerous one, but that made it even more exciting.

"Do we actually have space ships?", he asked.

John grinned. "Yes, we do. You'll get a debrief about those, too. And probably about a lot of other stuff."

Becker really did seem to take the news very well. He was a good soldier and open-minded, which was what they needed.

"The Stargate program deals with alien matters. We mostly don't travel to other planets by ship however. Some years ago we found a device called Stargate. It allows us to travel to other planets through wormholes."

Jason probably would have been shocked to hear that you could actually travel through wormholes, if he hadn't already travelled through anomalies. If it was possible to travel through time it surely was possible to travel through space using a wormhole.

"Will there be a debrief about that, too?"

John chuckled slightly. "You better hope not. McKay and Colonel Carter probably would love to tell you all about it, but we need you on missions, not stuck in a room listening to science babble for weeks."

Jason smirked. He liked the Colonel already.

"Anyway, you will join one of our teams and go on missions to other planets."

John could see the smile on Becker's face. He seemed to like the idea of going to other planets. Well, it was exciting.

"Alright, I think you'll get any information you need in your first debrief tomorrow morning at 0900. Now, about those creatures and our guest Stephen Hart. What can you tell me about them and the work you did before you came here?"

John opened Becker's file, as well as another file containing anything on Stephen Hart they had been able to gather so far. Becker's record was flawless. The past year however was sketchy. He had worked for the british government on a top secret project. John had a feeling that it involved prehistoric and futuristic creatures.

Jason looked at the Colonel. He knew those questions were coming. He didn't like to give away even more classified information, but it wasn't really like he had much of a choice. When Stephen and the creatures appeared here they had to help contain the situation in any way possible. And staying quiet now would be pointless.

"For the past year I've been working for an organisation called the Arc: anomaly research centre. It deals with anomalies, which basically are holes in time. They appear out of nowhere and creatures come through. The Arc detects and contains them."

John listened. It sounded weird and interesting at the same time. He was sure Rodney and Colonel Carter would love to take a look at one of those anomalies.

"Alright. I will talk to General O'Neill and Colonel Carter about this. If we get anomalies here we will need to be able to contain them as well. Maybe we can arrange some cooperation with the Arc."

Jason nodded. "I would be glad to help in any way and talk to James Lester who is in charge of the Arc."

"Good", John answered. "Now, about Stephen Hart. We got some information about him from the british IOA member. His résumé is impressive for a civilian. But apparently he died last year."

Jason didn't have a clue what IOA meant, but he would have to figure that out another time. He then nodded. He had read Stephen's file as well. He always thought he would have liked to meet him.

"Yes, he did. Or we believed he did. There was a traitor within the Arc who held creatures in cages in a big room. After some struggles the animals got loose. The mechanism to close the door from the outside was destroyed. So the creatures could only be locked in from the inside. Stephen went inside. Afterwards there was a huge mess and nothing more but traces of Stephens DNA were found. Since the room was locked and no anomaly was detected everyone assumed Stephen died in there", Jason said, summing the events up.

"But he didn't", John interrupted. "He was brought here by the ancient device." Maybe there was no damage done in this case, no alternate timeline created. There had been no body. Maybe the guy was supposed to come here. _Right. _Well, it didn't matter. There was no way they could send him back. He'd be eaten alive by those creatures. Stephen might not be one of them like Ford, but they would never send him somewhere knowing he'd get killed. Besides, judging by his record, John had a much better idea for the guy. He'd offer him a job. The SG program was short on men and Stephen Hart seemed just the right kind of guy: good with weapons, able to defend himself, good at tracking, intelligent, loyal, able to keep secrets, and if necessary willing to sacrifice himself to save others. What more could they want?

"I'll go talk to him next. Would you like to come along or shall I show you your room now?"

"I'll come with you", Jason said. He wanted to be there when Stephen found out that he was in the future and all of his friends believed him to be dead. He also wanted to be the one to tell him about Nick Cutters death.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 6 – Jack O'Neill's office:**

Jack had just informed Mac about the Stargate program, the events of the day, their location and the job she would be doing. She looked at him, trying to process everything. She had never believed in aliens, time travel, myths like Atlantis or anything similar. On the other hand she did believe in facts. She had seen the dinosaurs as well as Stephen Hart appearing out of nowhere. She had seen the Wraith that stunned her. She still felt a little groggy because of it. And she was in Atlantis.

"You just turned my world upside down", she admitted.

Jack chuckled. "So, still interested in the job?", he asked. He really hoped she was. She had dealt with the strange occurrences of the day better than a lot of people. They needed her.

Mac thought for a moment. It definitely was a dangerous job. She'd mostly go on missions and do legal stuff on the side only, when they needed it. She'd probably be away from Harm a lot, which would be hard. But she wanted this job. How could she not help defend the whole planet now that she knew it was in danger?

"Yes, sir, I do", she said and then smiled.

Jack returned the smile. It would be nice working with her.

"Sir, what happened to Lt. Cane? Did you find him?", Mac asked. She might not have liked the guy, but he was part of her team and disappeared on her watch. She needed to know if he was okay.

Jack groaned slightly. "First, no 'sir-ing' me when we're alone. I've known you since you drooled all over me and I even changed your diapers." He wrinkled his nose as if to make a point.

Mac couldn't help but chuckle, even though she did feel a little embarrassed. "Alright."

"Second, don't mention that name again – ever. They guy ran off and hid in a room under a table. And he wet his pants, for crying out loud! As far as I'm concerned he was never here."

Mac had to actually laugh. Now, _that_ was embarrassing!

"How did he even get here? Someone must have recommended him, right?", she asked.

"No and now I know why. The guy has the ATA gene, which is why we invited him."

Mac looked at him a little confused. "ATA gene?"

"It's a _gene_", Jack started. He really hated explaining stuff like that. Sam and Daniel were much better at it. "It basically means you're related to the ancients who built this city, the Stargates and lots of other cool stuff, thousands or even millions of years ago. Everyone who has the gene can operate stuff here easier. You really should let Carter or Daniel explain it to you. Or one of the doctors."

Mac nodded. It sounded complicated. She'd talk to someone about it when she found the time.

"Anyway, we started to have soldiers tested for it if they were treated in one of the military hospitals one of our staff works in. Cane has the gene, so it would have been nice to have him here. But apparently he doesn't have the nerves."

"You could say that", Mac agreed.

"Alright. It's getting late", Jack then stated. Actually it was late a while ago already. "Let's find you a room. You can stay here tonight and we'll figure out everything else tomorrow. How does that sound?"

"Good", she said, even though she wasn't that tired yet. The time difference from London to California was in her favour.

"Come on then."

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 6 – Atlantis:**

Sam headed towards the cafeteria. She wasn't hungry, but could do with something to drink. Entering the cafeteria she noticed that a few people were sitting on the cafeterias balcony. She smiled. Just like it had been when she was still in charge of Atlantis. She had missed those evenings of sitting together. Grabbing a bottle of water she went outside. Some of the new people had gathered here as well.

"Sam", Cassie called. "I made it!"

Sam stopped at Cassie's table and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Of course you did. I never doubted that for a second."

Cassie grinned. Sam was the closest thing to a family she had left. Sam had rescued her from the Goa'uld. She had brought her to earth and found her a place to stay. And when Janet, who had adopted her, died Sam was there for her again. They might not always have been able to spend much time together due to Sam's ob, but Cassie still loved her like a mother. And now they finally would be able to spend more time together.

"So, figured out more about Captain Jack Harkness and that rift in time and space?", Daniel asked. He was sitting next to Jacks clone at the same table as Cassie.

"Some things. I think we need to talk to those people from Torchwood and work out some cooperation." It wasn't good to have so many independent organisations dealing with alien things. They needed to work together in the future. She had also found out that Jack Harkness apparently liked to flirt a lot, with everyone! She smirked. He really was a handful.

"He was nice. I liked him", Vala stated out of the blue. She was sitting on Daniel's other side.

Daniel's head snapped to Vala. Somehow he didn't like to hear that. He frowned and quickly took a sip of his drink. It wasn't his concern who Vala liked or didn't like. They were just friends. It was the way he preferred it. Sure, she seemed very eager to change this fact, but he knew that that wouldn't be a good idea. They just were too different. She'd break his heart eventually.

"Come, sit down", Jack told Sam, gesturing at an empty chair. It was really nice to finally see her again. She definitely was what he missed most from his former life, or better the real Jack O'Neill's life.

"Later. I'm just going over there for a bit." She gestured at the table Colonel Sheppard and a few others were occupying. "I'll see you in a bit."

She then went to a nearby table. Everyone pushed their chairs together and John dragged a chair from another table next to his, offering it to her.

Sam smiled and sat down. It kind of felt like coming home. It was strange, as she felt the same way after leaving Atlantis and going back to earth. She was glad that she now could have both, Atlantis and SG-1.

"It is nice to have you back", Teyla stated with a warm smile.

"It is good to be back in Atlantis", Sam answered.

"So, how did your debriefs go?", she wanted to know before taking a sip of her water.

"Good", Teyla said and smiled at Amelia, who she had been able to give the good news.

Sam glanced at Amelia. "You're joining a team, right?"

"Yes and I'm really looking forward to it. Do you know already whose team I will be in?"

"No, we'll decide about that tomorrow", John said.

"My talk with one of our new arrivals was interesting. Her name is Fred Burkle and I'm not sure if she is… eccentric or from an alternate reality", Lorne stated.

"An alternate reality?", Sam asked curiously while Rodney groaned at the thought of it.

"She thinks she fell through a _magical_ portal and claims that they have demons and vampires where she comes from."

Rodney snickered. "Yeah, right, magic, demons and vampires."

Sam leaned back in her chair. "I will have to talk to her and she will have a psych evaluation. But we can't rule out the possibility that she is telling the truth."

"Oh come on", Rodney said in an exasperated tone.

Sam turned to him, giving him a look she especially reserved for him. "Rodney, we don't know what other realities are like. There could be any kind of creatures living in them.

"But _vampires_?"

"It could be an alien race living on blood. We simply might not have encountered them yet, or they don't exist here. And honestly, can we rule anything out? You've met the Wraith. They suck the life out of people, so why not a species sucking blood?"

Rodney sighed.

"Well, let's wait for that psych evaluation", John suggested.

"She didn't seem crazy to me", Lorne stated. He actually kind of liked her. She was pretty, babbled a lot when you gave her the chance, blushed in a cute way and was quite intelligent from what he could tell by now. He was looking forward to getting to know her better.

Ronon and Teal'c chose that moment to step unto the balcony. Teal'c went over to Daniel while Ronon came over to them.

"So, the city's clear again?", John asked looking up at his friend.

Ronon frowned slightly. He and Teal'c had been in charge of clearing the city of bodies and animals.

"All bodies have been disposed of. The live animals are in holding cells and have been fed", Ronon reported while sitting down next to Amelia and stretching in his chair.

"What are we going to do with those dinosaurs anyway?"

"I don't know", John said glancing at Sam. "Keep them as pets until we figure out something else?"

"I'm not going to feed them", Ronon quickly stated.

Teyla gave him a sharp look. "We will take care of them", she promised. There probably were some scientists or doctors of some sort who would be thrilled to take care of these animals.

"Oh, almost forgot, Todd wants to talk to you", Ronon said looking at John.

John groaned. "What does he want now?" He could understand that the Wraith wasn't happy living in a holding cell, but did he constantly have to ask to see him? Why not anyone else for a change?

"Don't know." And don't care, Ronon added in thoughts. "A marine told me when I was leaving the holding cell area. Todd especially asked for you."

John sighed. "Alright. Let's see what he wants." He got up and left with a quick wave.

Sam followed his example, excused herself and went over to the other table, sitting down between Jack and Teal'c.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 6****/7 – Atlantis – balcony near the infirmary:**

Stephen looked out over the city. It was dark, but he could see enough with all the lights turned on throughout the main part of the city. Atlantis – he actually was in Atlantis! Well, why was he surprised? It wasn't like he believed anything was impossible anymore. Working for the Arc had showed him that already. But now things were even stranger. He somehow travelled through time without using an anomaly. Everyone at the Arc thought he was dead. Lester hadn't been the traitor after all. Nick was dead, shot by Helen! How could that be possible? He knew he had been wrong about her, but he didn't know how wrong. She killed her own husband! And then she tried to change history by wiping out the Neanderthals and thus preventing humanity from ever evolving. She was completely mad and he hadn't seen it!

He sighed. This was all a bit much. No wonder he couldn't sleep even though it was past midnight already.

There was so much going through his head. He had to deal with losing about a year, with the loss of his friend, the betrayal of the woman he once thought he loved and on top of that he had no idea what to do with his future. Sure he probably could go back to the Arc. They'd be happy to hear that he was alive and he surely would get his job back. But did he want to?

Things hadn't been going well before he apparently 'died'. Cutter sacked him. The reasons for that surely weren't relevant for the Arc. They'd take him back. They even called him in again afterwards. But he still didn't see eye to eye with the Arc's policy and probably never would. Going back just didn't seem like a good idea.

Then there was Colonel Sheppard's job offer. The Stargate program sounded interesting, but it was a secret organisation as well. Noone seemed to want to let the public know what was really happening in the world. On the other hand people probably would live in fear from now on if they knew about the alien threat they were facing. Aliens affected everyone. The anomalies wouldn't necessarily affect everyone and might not cause mass hysteria. He believed it would be better to let the public know about the anomalies. On the alien subject he wasn't entirely sure. He'd have to think about it more. Maybe he could do that while joining the Stargate program. It would be the best way to get a better insight on the actual situation. And besides, what else could he do? Now that he knew aliens were real and that some had just attacked earth a few days ago he didn't think he could just live a normal life and ignore the whole situation.

He'd sleep over it and make a final decision tomorrow. Well, if he could sleep. Maybe he should ask one of the nurses for some sleeping pills. He needed to rest, especially as his head was still aching and his arm throbbed. At least his chest didn't hurt much anymore and he hadn't cracked or broken any ribs.


	8. Chapter 8

After finishing my exams and moving I finally found time to write again. I hope you'll like the next chapter.

I included a "guest star" in this chapter: Addison Montgomery from Private Practice & Grey's Anatomy. She will be in the story for one more chapter after this, I think. I'm not sure yet if she will return in the future.

Alright, here we go:

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 6/7: Atlantis holding cells:**

John went into the holding cell area where Todd's cell was.

"What is it now?", he asked sounding rather annoyed. Then he froze. There was someone else in the cell. A woman seemed to be unconscious on the floor at the far end of the cell. Her back was to him, so he couldn't see who it as.

Drawing his gun John stepped closer.

"Ah, Sheppard", Todd said as a greeting. "How nice of you to come."

John frowned. "What's going on? What did you do?"

"That is what I would like to know." He gestured at the woman. "And I did not do anything."

"Don't touch her!"

"I have not, as I was not sure if you intended her to be a present for me or not."

Todd's calm voice was starting to really annoy John.

"We would never send you a human being to feed on", John stated. Doing that to anyone would be more than cruel. John didn't even wish it on his worst enemy.

"Ah, that is what I suspected. Something else must be going on. Tell, me, John Sheppard, are your people having trouble? I could feel the presence of other Wraith earlier today."

"That's none of your damn business", John barked. Then it dawned on him. People had been appearing in the city. Obviously someone was unlucky enough to end up in Todd's cell.

"You didn't feed on her, did you?"

"I already told you, Sheppard. I did not touch her."

John wasn't sure what to think. Todd hadn't fed in a while and the gene therapy to turn Todd into a human or at least a hybrid still wasn't completed, so Todd really had to be hungry. Did he fear they would kill him if he fed on someone? Or did he have another plan, like escaping while they got the woman out of the cell? Todd was smart; he surely had some sort of plan.

John quickly radioed for backup. Once the room was full of armed people John went to the cage and shut off the security system.

"If he moves shoot him", he ordered before going into the cage. Todd stayed as far away from him as possible, looking rather smug and in control of the entire situation. Bastard!

Once he reached the woman John knelt by her side and turned her around. He knew her. It was Sora, one of the Genii they met during their first year in Atlantis. They held her prisoner for a while before letting her go when the Genii gave them bombs to fight the Wraith.

Sora was unconscious, but luckily seemed unharmed. He gestured to a marine to help him and together they carried her out. The cage was locked again and Todd seemed to smile.

"I did not plan anything", he stated and John frowned again.

Major Teldy radioed the infirmary while John stepped closer to the cage, staring at the Wraith. He just didn't get this particular Wraith.

Todd seemed to wait for a reply. John however shrugged and then turned around. "Whatever."

"Take her outside and wait for the medics to get her", he said to Teldy. Then he went to find out who was on guard duty today. How could noone have noticed that a woman was in Todd's cell? She could be dead. It didn't matter if she was Genii and used to be their prisoner. Noone was left to be fed upon by a Wraith!

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 6/7: Atlantis ****– cafeteria balcony:**

Amelia glanced at Ronon. He was standing at the balustrade. Most people had already retired for the night. Once Teyla left as well Amelia and Ronon were alone. Getting up she walked over to him.

"Hey", she said silently.

Ronon pulled his gaze away from the ocean and looked at her. "Hey."

Amelia smiled a little. Just being close to him made her feel happy. But something was off tonight. She could feel it.

"So, want to tell me what's bothering you?", she asked bluntly. Ronon wasn't really a talkative guy, so she knew she had to ask if she wanted to know something.

"Nothing", Ronon quickly said.

Amelia raised an eyebrow, but didn't press the subject. If he didn't want to talk about it she would accept that.

"I made it", she then said. "I'm joining a team." Ronon had still been busy cleaning up the mess in the city when Teyla told her, so she didn't have a chance to talk to him about it yet.

"Of course you made it", Ronon said smiling slightly. He was proud of her and happy for her that she made it, but he still wasn't looking forward to her going off world so much.

Amelia looked at him, not sure what to think. He smiled, but still didn't really look happy. Wasn't he glad that she would now be on a team as well?

"You don't sound too happy", she observed silently.

"I'm happy for you", he stated.

"But?" There was a but, she just knew it. Didn't he think she should be on a team? He was the one who made her want to join one in the first place. She thought he'd be happy about it. She wanted him to be happy.

"You don't think I'm good enough to join a team?"

Ronon stared at her. "No, of course not. You're great. Any team would be lucky to have you!"

Amelia frowned slightly. She just didn't get it. If he really thought that, why wasn't he celebrating with her?

Ronon sighed. He hated talking about his feelings. He generally wasn't much of a talker.

"I was worried about you today", he then admitted.

Amelia looked at him a little surprised at the revelation. Then she smiled.

"And now you think you'll have to worry about me every time I step through the Stargate?"

Ronon nodded.

Amelia smirked slightly. She somehow liked that thought. It wasn't that she wanted to worry him. But it was good to know that he cared about her so much.

"Well, now you know how I feel every time you step through the gate", she said teasingly.

"That's different", Ronon protested.

"How? Because I'm a woman?"

Ronon sighed. He didn't mean it like that. "I've spent years out there."

Amelia actually had to chuckle at that. Typical male behaviour.

"First, this is the milky way. So you haven't actually been out there. And just because you have been on a lot of different planets doesn't make you invincible. You almost died on that Wraith Hive!" Infact he actually had died and was brought back by a Wraith. Even thinking about that made her heart ache. She almost lost him.

Ronon frowned. She did have a point. That however didn't make him feel any better.

"I'll try to be careful out there", she promised while taking a step towards him.

"You better", Ronon simply answered. He really didn't want to lose someone else. Years had passed since he lost Melena, but it still hurt. The first woman he had been interested in after that was Jennifer and he kind of lost her, too; to Rodney.

Amelia smirked. Then she closed the distance between them, pulled him down to her and kissed him. It was sweet and gentle. She pulled away soon, feeling a little uncertain all of a sudden. He didn't pull away, but was this actually what he wanted? Blushing she looked down.

Ronon had been a little surprised when she kissed him. Sure, they had spent a lot of time together lately, but that was it so far. Now things had definitely changed… and he liked it. Her lips were soft and it felt really good to be kissed by her. When she pulled away he felt like protesting.

A smile appeared on Ronon's lips. Then he gently grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer, capturing her mouth again for another kiss.

This kiss was less gentle, more passionate, demanding and it left Amelia completely breathless. Yes, this definitely was what he wanted.

When they finally broke apart she took a deep breath and looked up at him happily. Part of her couldn't believe that this was actually happening. She just kissed Ronon Dex! Half the women in Atlantis probably would kill to be in her place.

"I could get used to that", Ronon said, still a little breathless himself.

Amelia smiled happily. "Me, too."

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day ****7: Atlantis – balcony by the infirmary:**

Sheila sat on a bench, lost in her thoughts. The sun would soon be up and she hadn't been able to sleep much. Sharon's operation had gone well under the circumstances. The doctors feared that she would die, but they managed to save her. Unfortunately she still hadn't woken up. They said she was in a coma. She might wake up any minute, or in months. Maybe she'd never wake up, but Sheila didn't even want to think about that. Sharon was the only person she had left. They were about 10.000 years in the future. Her people were gone and Atlantis was back on earth. Everything was so different and strange, even though she was still in the same city she grew up in.

"Please tell me you slept at all", a voice suddenly said. Sheila turned around and noticed that it was Cameron Mitchell, the man who saved them. She managed to smile a little. He was a nice man. She was glad that he showed up when he did and that he seemed to try and help her in any way he could. He had checked up on her and Sharon before he retired the previous night. And it looked like he was checking on them again the first thing in the morning. It was nice of him and it made her feel a little bit better. They could have ended up in worse places. At least Atlantis hadn't fallen into Wraith hands. Her people had to leave their home, but they managed to go back to earth, where they lived peacefully, as far as she was told. And now Atlantis was once more inhabited. It would have been a waste if the city stayed abandoned forever.

"I did. An hour or two", she said as Cameron sat down as well.

Cam, sighed. He wished there was something he could do to help her and her sister. But unfortunately there wasn't.

"You do need rest, you know? You're not helping your sister by not sleeping."

"I know. It's just so much to process. Everything changed in the blink of an eye. Everyone I ever knew is long dead by now", she said silently, trying not to feel miserable again.

"We're working on finding a way to send you back", Cam said, trying to make her feel better. He however wasn't sure if they'd succeed. They didn't even know exactly which year or even century Sheila and Sharon were from. But they never gave up hope. Sam, McKay and some other scientists were working on the problem and if anyone could solve this it was them.

Sheila gave him a half-hearted smile. She knew how tricky time travel was. Her father had worked on it for at least half of his live.

"And until we do get you home you're welcome to stay with us."

Sheila nodded. She hadn't thought about it before, but these people could just throw her out of Atlantis if they wanted to. They were so many, that they surely would succeed. But so far they had been nothing but helpful.

She turned to Cameron. "Thank you. For all your help."

Cam grinned. "You're very welcome."

They then sat in silence for a while as the sun rose above the horizon. It was beautiful and for a moment Sheila forgot all her worries.

Cam glanced at Sheila as she watched the sunrise. She really looked stunning as the sun reflected off her face and her hair shimmered golden. He definitely didn't mind to be assigned to her.

"How about some breakfast?", he suggested.

Sheila hesitated. She had been away from her sister's side long enough.

"Come on, you need to eat. We can check on your sister on our way and tell the nurses to contact us immediately if Sharon's condition changes."

"Okay", Sheila agreed. He was right, she did need to eat. Her stomach growled as if to agree with that.

Cam nodded, got up and started to lead the way back into the infirmary. He was glad that Sheila had agreed to have breakfast with him. That way he could tell her more about everything, maybe get some information, and hopefully make her more comfortable here. Apart from that he could use the company as well. The funeral of all the SGC members that died in the attack was in a few hours and he really didn't want to think about that right now.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 7: Atlantis – ****class room:**

Stephen looked up from his files about alien races and to Dr. Jackson who was telling them a lot of interesting and some boring stuff. He almost felt like he was back in school.

Colonel Sheppard had shown up in the infirmary this morning and showed him to a room after he was released. They even had some clean clothes for him. Stephen quickly showered and changed. Then they went to have breakfast and the Colonel told him a bit more about the Stargate program. It all confirmed Stephen's decision to join. When he told the Colonel the man looked happy. Stephen couldn't help but smile at that. It felt good that he was wanted here.

After breakfast the new recruits had a debrief about alien races. Since he had made up his mind about joining the Stargate program Stephen went to it as well. Colonel MacKenzie, Rachel and Jason were there as well and they all sat together.

Dr. Jackson was just explaining the difference between a Tok'ra and a Goa'uld when the door opened and Colonel Carter stepped in.

Daniel stopped and turned to her. "Is it time already?", he asked and glanced at his watch. "Oh. Okay. We're done for today."

"Come on, Daniel, hurry", Sam answered and then briefly waved at the new recruits who were packing up their stuff.

Daniel put on his black jacket and hurried after Sam.

"They are all dressed up", Rachel observed as she walked out of the room with Jason, Stephen and Lt. Colonel MacKenzie.

"They are going to a funeral", Mac informed them. She had breakfast with Jack and he told her about it.

"Right, Stargate Command was attacked and destroyed", Rachel remembered. Vala had told her about it last night. A lot of good people had died. Rachel didn't know them, but she still felt sad. She had seen so many people die in her life and every death had started to feel even worse over the years. There obviously was no getting used to it.

"Mac", a voice called and she turned around. Jack was coming up to her.

"We're off now. You're the highest ranking officer left in the city, so you're in charge until we're back", Jack said while pulling his jacket straight.

Mac stared at him. He had to be kidding, right? She just got here. There had to be someone else who was more qualified to do the job.

"I know you're new, but noone wants to stay behind." They all lost people they knew and cared about in the attack. Everyone wanted to pay their respects. That left the new people. Jack was definitely glad that Mac was one of them. If it had been a complete stranger he wouldn't have felt comfortable to leave him or her in charge. But he trusted Mac.

"You'll do fine. And if anything happens, contact us. We can be back in seconds." The Daedalus was still in orbit and the General Hammond was on the planet as well, so they could be beamed anywhere.

Mac pushed away her uncertainty and nodded. "Yes, sir. I'm sure everything will be fine until you return." She really hoped it would be. There was just so much she didn't know yet.

Jack smiled at her. Then he turned around and walked towards a big group of people. A few seconds later they all disappeared.

"Wow, we really have beaming technology", someone called.

Jason turned from the now empty place to Mac.

"First official day at work and you're already in charge of the whole city", he said with a grin.

Mac glanced at him. She really didn't feel that happy about the whole situation, but she wouldn't let Jack down.

"Alright. Let's check out the control room. You three are with me." If something went wrong she preferred to have the few people she already knew around.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 7: Atlantis – gate room:**

Jack Harkness looked at the Stargate infront of him. It really was big and looked kind of cool. He really wanted to try it out.

"Amazing, isn't it?", Martha asked. "I can't wait to use it." She would be joining a team soon and was really looking forward to it.

Jack turned to her and grinned. "I bet you can't. All those alien planets out there, just waiting to be explored."

Martha nodded. She always used to get so excited when the TARDIS landed somewhere. There usually was something new and amazing out there. Now she felt the same way. She would see so many great things again.

Her eyes were sparkling with excitement as she thought about travelling again. Looking at Jack she could see that he was feeling the same way.

"Torchwood could probably do without me for a while", Jack stated. It wasn't like he was in charge anymore anyway. He had thought about leaving the past days, but didn't really know where to go. Now he knew where he wanted to be.

Martha's grin widened. "The Stargate program is still looking for more personnel, especially team leaders", she told him, hoping that he would really decide to join. It would be great to have Jack around. Everything was simply a lot more fun with him.

Jack grinned. "Team leader, eh? That sounds like a job for me", he said. "Want to be on my team?" He winked at her playfully and they both laughed.

"Come on, let's find out who's in charge while the General is at the funeral. We need to get you signed up."

Her hand instinctively took his and she dragged him towards the control room.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 7: Los Angeles****:**

John Sheppard waited at a traffic light. He was trying to get into a better mood. The funeral had been hard on all of them and the mood in Atlantis wasn't exactly the best. John was glad that he had taken the rest of the day off. He would meet an old friend who lived in LA now and they'd go to the beach. Some relaxing would be nice. John could hardly remember when he had time to relax the last time. Something always came up.

The traffic light turned to green and a woman hurried over the street immediately, talking on her mobile. She caught John's eye at once. She had deep red hair, long legs and was wearing a skirt. He smiled as he followed. Then he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. A bus was rushing towards the woman way too fast. John reacted instinctively, rushed forward and pushed the woman out of the way. Then the bus hit him.

Pain rushed through him as he flew through the air a few feet. But then it suddenly stopped. John didn't feel anything anymore as he hit the ground.

Brakes squealed as a bus come to a stop. A man hit the ground and didn't move. Addison Montgomery slowly took it all in while pushing herself up into a sitting position. She ignored the pain in her hand and knee, where she hit the ground hard. She needed to help the man. He had pushed her away. She had been busy talking to Cooper about Violet and hadn't even noticed the advancing bus. If she hadn't been pushed away she would be the one laying on the ground now.

She quickly got up and made her way over to the man, pushing away bystanders that were gathering around him.

"I'm, a doctor. Get out of the way."

She then kneeled down beside the man. There was no blood, which was good, but he could still have internal bleedings and injuries.

"I'm Doctor Montgomery. Please don't move." He didn't react.

"Sir, can you hear me?" She turned around to the bystanders. "Has anyone called an ambulance yet?" Noone said anything. Then a man pulled out his mobile and started dialling. Good. She turned back to the man on the ground.

John blinked. Everything was out of focus. He knew that something had happened. Something that wasn't good. The bus. He remembered pushing the woman out of the way. Then he got hit and pain rushed through him. But it stopped just as quickly. He wasn't in any pain right now. No, he actually felt good. He felt safe, as if everything was perfect, which was weird. He shouldn't feel like that, should he?

His eyes focused and he saw the pretty redhead leaning over him. She looked rather concerned and was talking to him. What was she saying?

"Do you know where you are? Can you tell me your name?"

"On the ground", John muttered silently. Then he cleared his throat and added a bit louder: "Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, USAF."

Addison smirked at his reply and felt glad that he was talking.

"Don't move. An ambulance will be here soon. We'll get you to a hospital and check you out properly", she promised. "Everything is going to be okay."

John nodded. He knew that it was what they said to make you feel better. But somehow he had the feeling that everything really would be okay. He still felt all warm and fuzzy, even though the feeling was fading slowly.

"Are you in any pain?"

"No."

Addison frowned. That couldn't be good. He was hit by a bus. He should feel pain. Hopefully it was just the shock and not something else. She gently took his hand and squeezed it slightly.

"Can you feel that?"

"What? Your hand?", John asked. He was tempted to push himself up and look around properly. But she had told him not to move. He had been in enough bad situations to know when to do what he was told. Just because he felt fine didn't mean he actually was fine. He was hit by a bus after all!

Addison smiled in relief. At least he wasn't paralysed all the way.

"I can feel my toes, too", John added, which earned him another smile. He really liked her smile. Well, at least he had found an excuse to get to know her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Day 7: Atlantis – control room:**

General Jack O'Neill entered the control room. He really wasn't in a good mood after the funerals. Someone even organized a wake for the deceased afterwards. But Jack had never been fond of wakes. There was always so much chatting and cake. Who wanted that when people died? Well, he had eaten one pie before excusing himself. He had left Mac in charge long enough , so he left earlier than most others.

"Anything unusual or important?", he asked as he stopped next to the controls. Mac was there, as well as some other newbies.

"Not much", Mac answered feeling rather relieved. There was no alien contact, no weird devices malfunctioning and no accidents. All in all Mac was feeling good.

Jack smiled. Those were the first good news in a while.

"We have a request to join the Stargate program. Captain Jack Harkness from Torchwood would like to become a team leader."

Jack raised an eyebrow at that. A request for team leader from a Captain? All team leaders so far had been Majors at least. Or was the guy from the Navy?

"I'll talk to him", Jack said. They did need team leaders, so he'd find out if the guy was capable.

"I contacted the Arc and they would like to arrange a meeting", Jason Becker said.

"Good. I think Carter wanted to go to the Arc. I'll tell her once she is back and you can arrange the meeting."

Becker nodded.

"Anything else?"

Noone said anything. Instead the Stargate started rotating.

"Unauthorised off-world activation", Chuck informed.

Jack frowned. They had no teams off-world. Hopefully it was not another unwelcome 'surprise gift' from their new 'friends'.

Chuck activated the shield and they waited.

"We are receiving a langaran identification code and a transmission. Someone named Jonas Quinn asks for permission to come to earth."

Jack felt relieved and even smiled a little. "Let him through", he said. They hadn't heard from Jonas in a while and Jack realized that he missed the guy a little. He might not have liked him in the beginning, when he joined SG-1, but had grown rather fond of him over time. Not that he would admit that.

It didn't take Jonas long to come through the gate.

Once he arrived on earth Jonas looked around surprised.

"Woah. A little redecoration?", he asked as Jack came towards him.

Jack chuckled. "Just felt like something new", he said jokingly and shook Jonas hand. Then he turned serious. The reason for them being in Atlantis wasn't really a funny one after all.

"Welcome to Atlantis", he then said gesturing around.

"Wow. I can't believe it. I'm actually in the lost city of the ancients?", Jonas muttered. They had been looking for it while he was a member of SG-1. He knew that they eventually found it, but hadn't expected the city to be on earth now, or to ever set foot in it.

"Yeah. Nice, isn't it?"

Jonas nodded, still looking around in amazement.

"So, planning on staying for a while?", Jack then asked gesturing at Jonas rather big bag.

Jonas blinked and turned to face Jack. He should focus. He could check out Atlantis later.

"Maybe. I'm not really sure yet. I came to warn you and give you some information we gathered. Unfortunately I had to travel to another planet by ship as our Stargate was destroyed in an attack."

Jack frowned. That sounded way too familiar. "Let's go to my office", he said. He had a feeling that they had a lot to talk about.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 7: Atlantis – conference room:**

Sam entered the room. They had barely made it back to Atlantis after the wake when she was told to come to conference room 1. Something must have happened while they were gone. Hopefully that didn't mean more bad news. She already was in a rather bad mood. Funerals tended to do that to her.

Once inside the room Sam saw a small group of people. They were chatting and smiling. Then she saw the reason for it.

"Jonas", she called and hurried towards him to give him a hug. Maybe this wasn't bad news after all.

"Sam", Jonas said happily and wrapped her up in his arms.

"It's so good to see you. Especially after the day we had", she said as she let go of him.

"Yeah, I heard", Jonas answered looking rather sad. He had known several people that died at the SGC as well.

"Unfortunately I don't come with a lot of good news", he added.

"Why am I not surprised", Vala muttered. Good news were rare lately.

"Let's all sit down", Jack said.

Once they sat at the conference table Jack pushed a file towards each of them.

"Nine days ago Langara was attacked. A bomb came through the Stargate and destroyed everything nearby, including the gate", Jonas then informed them all.

Cam sighed. He didn't know the former SG-1 member, but he still felt for him and his people. They surely suffered a similar loss as earth with the destruction of the SGC.

"The next day ships arrived and attacked the planet from orbit. Luckily there weren't many and we were able to destroy them with our newly developed naquadria weapons." After the planet had been occupied by the Ori the nations of Langara had finally started to work together peacefully. They cooperated before, but there had always been tensions. Surviving an occupation had united the planet and made them work together to protect the planet better in the future. It might have saved the whole planet now.

"I gathered all the information I could get and travelled by ship to the closest planet with a Stargate. Then I came here."

Jonas gestured at the files. "This is all the information we have. It's not much."

"But more than we had so far", Jack added. "Which is squat." Well, earth hadn't been attacked by ships so far, so they didn't actually encounter their enemies.

They all looked at the files. There were photos of the attacking ships among them. Sam hadn't seen them before. A new enemy. Why did a new enemy always arise once they beat the last one? Didn't they deserve a break?

"Well, I'm definitely glad Atlantis is here", Daniel said breaking the silence.

"Me, too", Jack agreed. They had no idea who they were up against and the ancient chair in area 51 had been destroyed by the Wraith. Without Atlantis they wouldn't have a chair or Stargate on earth.

"We'll send the Apollo to Langara to offer help", Jack then said looking at Jonas. The ship was closest to that part of the galaxy.

"Thank you", Jonas said.

"What about you? Will you travel back to the planet you came from? Is your ship waiting there or shall the Apollo pick you up on the way?", Sam wanted to know.

Jonas glanced around at his former team members and the new members of SG-1 he didn't really know so far.

"Well, I was actually planning to offer to help you fight our common enemy", he said, hoping that his offer would be accepted. He really missed earth. It almost felt more like home than his own planet, even though he spent only about a year on earth.

"Really?", Daniel asked and smiled.

"You will join us again, Jonas Quinn?", Teal'c inquired, but it sounded more like a statement than a question.

Sam grinned happily at the thought. She really missed Jonas after he went back home. Glancing at Jack she then nudged his arm.

"Yeah, right", Jack muttered sitting up straight. "Well, you are always welcome here. We even have looots of free rooms", he said and then smirked.

"You will love this place. Atlantis is amazing", Daniel said, already planning to show Jonas around.

Jonas smiled and laughed at Daniel's enthusiasm. Everyone seemed happy to welcome him back.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 7: Atlantis – ****outside Jack O'Neill's office:**

The door opened and Martha turned towards it. She had spoken to the General about Jack joining the Stargate program. Then Jack went into the office and they talked. She was waiting outside for a while now and was relieved when the door finally opened.

Jack Harkness stood in the corridor and smirked. "You're looking at the newest team leader in the Stargate program", he exclaimed and opened his arms wide.

Martha grinned happily and rushed forward, throwing herself into Jack's arms.

Jack lifted her off the ground and twirled her around a little before finally letting go of her again.

"Come on, let's go celebrate", he then said. He really did feel happy and excited. He would no longer be stuck on one planet. He'd be able to explore planets again. And he'd get to lead a team once more. He really hated to be bossed around by the new Torchwood leader.

Martha took his hand and together they walked to the cafeteria.

"So, what did the General want to know?"

Jack glanced down to her. "A bit more about Torchwood and the work I did there. Then what I did before Torchwood and some specifics about my rank." That had been the trickiest part. He didn't mind talking about his past with people he trusted, but so far he hardly knew the General. He liked him. The guy was definitely hot and funny. But he wasn't ready to share every detail of his rather complicated and very long life yet. Talking about how he actually got his rank and name was one of the things Jack preferred not to mention in a 'job interview'. It might not come off as good to admit that he used to be a con-man who took the name and rank of a dead soldier during World War II. Besides, it wasn't like he hadn't earned that rank. He used to be a soldier after all. And he did fight aliens longer than anyone on the entire planet could have. Yes, he really did feel like he earned that title.

"Apparently Captains aren't good enough to be team leaders around here."

Martha frowned.

"How did you convince the General then?"

"I said it wasn't a Marine or Air Force rank, but more like a Navy rank." He actually told the General that he was from the 51st century and that the rank system was a little different there. It wasn't even a lie. He just hadn't been a soldier long enough to become a Captain. The time agency had been much more promising.

Martha raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Jack's life was complicated and she understood that there were some things he might not want to share right away with anyone, like his immortality for example.

"Do they know that you can't die?"

"No. I'd rather give them time to get to know me first", Jack answered.

"Try to stay alive for a while then", Martha said in a teasing voice.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Martha glanced at him. "You do tend to die a lot."

Jack would have liked to protest, but she was right. He couldn't even count anymore how often he had died already. And that was not counting his constant death and revival while he was buried under Cardiff.

"Maybe I should try to be more careful."

Martha smirked slightly as they entered the cafeteria and went over to the buffet.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 7: Atlantis – ****cafeteria – about 50 minutes later:**

Most of the people in the cafeteria were gathered around one table. The main noise in the room was roaring laughter, as Captain Jack Harkness told another anecdote of his life.

"Oh, come on, Jack, you did not…"

"Of course I did. It was quite an interesting…." He didn't get to finish the sentence as Colonel Samantha Carter contacted him over the radio.

Jack held up his finger and pointed at his radio while listening to the Colonel.

"I'll be right there."

"Sorry, guys, duty calls. I need to go." He finished his drink and got up. Then he turned to Martha.

"We're off to Torchwood. Want to come along?"

"Sorry, can't. My shift will start in half an hour", she answered. She had the evening shift in the infirmary today. What she loved most about working for the Stargate program was that she was able to work as a doctor and still would be going through the Stargate to explore alien planets. Now she finally could have both.

"Alright. Have fun. I'll see you when I get back."

Jack waved to the group of people at the table and then left the cafeteria. He really liked the people here already. They had a good sense of humour.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 7: Atlantis – ****Torchwood Cardiff:**

While Colonel Carter, Lt. Colonel Mitchell and Dr. Jackson were talking to the new Torchwood team Jack packed his stuff. He'd really miss this place. He had lived in the HUB for so many years now. It was more a home to him than any other place he had lived in. But things had changed. This wasn't the Torchwood he loved anymore.

"So you're really leaving", a voice said.

Jack turned around and there she stood. "Gwen", he said silently. She was the one person he would miss more than anything in the world. He would never have left, if he didn't know that Gwen was pregnant and would soon quit her job at Torchwood anyway.

"Yes, I…" He was starting to explain, but Gwen interrupted him.

"I understand", she said. Gwen knew him well enough by now to see that Jack wasn't happy at Torchwood anymore. And who could blame him? The way the new people had marched in and taken over was just awful. And it was completely unfair as well. It wasn't Jacks fault that his crazy brother had come back in time and terrorized the whole town. And it definitely wasn't Jack's fault that Tosh and Owen died. Besides, it wasn't like these people were doing a better job at protecting the planet. Most of them were useless in a crisis situation. Maybe they were just new at all of this. She hoped that that was it. Who would keep Cardiff safe otherwise? She had her resignation on her desk at home already. She'd hand it in tomorrow. Without Jack she didn't see a reason to stay any longer. It was safer for the baby this way as well.

"I wish things didn't turn out this way", she then said. Everything had been great a few months ago. Okay, the job hadn't been easy. It was always challenging and often frightening. But she had loved it. She loved working with Tosh, Owen, Ianto and especially Jack.

"Me, too", Jack said and he didn't just mean Torchwood. He still wished that things had turned out differently between him and Gwen. She meant so much to him, always had and probably always would. But she had Rhys and loved him. Maybe there could have been something between Gwen and him anyway. He often felt like she had feelings for him as well. But what good would that be for her? They couldn't have the kind of future Rhys could give her. With him Gwen would grow old and have a normal life. Jack on the other hand wouldn't age and sooner or later it would bother her. His life could never be normal either.

He sighed and pushed away those thoughts. He and Gwen didn't have a future together, no matter how much he secretly wished it. Maybe it was best if he got some distance to her, for both of them.

"But you won't just disappear completely, will you?", she asked.

"Of course not. You'll see me again sooner than you'd like."

Gwen laughed slightly at that. "That's not possible."

Jack smiled sadly then he stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.

Gwen went into his arms willingly, wrapping her arms around him and breathing in his familiar scent. She really wasn't sure what to do without him. She'd miss him so much. Tears started to dwell in her eyes. Gwen tried to hold them back, but some slipped out anyway.

"I'm gonna send you my contact information. If you need me, don't hesitate to contact me. I'll be right there." If one of earth's ships was in orbit or on the planet he'd beam right over.

Gwen smiled slightly and wiped away her tears. Then she reluctantly let go of him.

"And if you need help, you know where to find me."

Jack grinned. "Sure."

Gwen then glanced around. "Need some help?"

Jack nodded and they packed the rest of his belongings. Once they were done, Jack grabbed the two bigger bags and Gwen the smaller one as they headed out into the main room of the HUB. The others were still talking.

"How'd you close the rift anyway?", Jack asked as he put the bags down.

"We didn't. It just shut itself down", she said. "Or maybe not…"

Jack glanced at her. "What do you mean?"

"Two people came through the rift. A man and a woman. He claims that they came from an alternate reality and that the woman closed the rift. She was glowing somehow when they arrived."

Jack stared at her.

"Where are they now?"

"In a cell. The others didn't really believe their story."

Jack frowned. "But you did?"

"The rift doesn't just shut itself down. Someone must have done it. And she glowed. Who knows what else she can do?" Gwen shrugged. She had seen strange things in her life already. Nothing was impossible in her point of view.

"Besides, since when do we lock people that come through the rift up without having been threatened?" Well, unless they are crazy. She however didn't say that out loud. The subject was still a little tense.

Jack frowned. He had to agree with that. "Let's go talk to them."

Gwen nodded. Jack was no longer the leader of Torchwood and he would leave soon. But he was still here right now and maybe he could do something about this. She just didn't think this was right. But noone had listened to her when she protested about the treatment of the prisoners. It was one reason why she would resign tomorrow. She obviously wasn't valued here anymore.

Gwen led the way into the holding cell area that usually was reserved for aliens and rarely for human beings.

----- -----

When he heard the door open Mickey jumped up angrily. Rose was still sleeping. She had barely moved since she closed the rift and these people wouldn't help her. What kind of Torchwood was this? Yeah, right the kind of Torchwood that let the Cybermen through. What the hell had he expected in the first place?

Mickey calmed down a little when he saw that it was the dark haired woman who had promised to talk to the others on their behalf. She seemed to be the only one with half a brain around here.

"Please tell me you are here to let us out", he called. Then he froze when he saw the man that came in behind Gwen.

"Mickey?", Jack called as he stepped closer. Then his eyes fell on the woman who was sleeping or unconscious.

"Rose. Oh my god. Open the cell, Gwen. Now!"

Gwen didn't hesitate. This was the kind of order she didn't mind following.

"You know them?"

"Thank god you're here, Jack", Mickey said. "I never thought I'd say that, but I really am glad to see you."

Jack grinned, spread his arms and they hugged. "Always knew you liked me", Jack said jokingly.

Mickey frowned, grimaced and pulled away. "I'm not _that_ glad!"

Jack ignored him and instead went to Rose, who still hadn't moved.

"Rose", he said silently as he kneeled down beside her. He could hardly believe that she was actually back. He had missed her a lot and had so many questions for her.

"I think something is wrong with her. She glowed and closed the rift. Then she collapsed and has been sleeping almost the whole day since then", Mickey said.

Jack frowned and remembered that Gwen had told him about the glowing already. He also remembered what the doctor told him about Rose looking into the heart of the TARDIS and becoming Bad Wolf. The doctor said he took all of the power out of her again, but maybe he had been wrong. He must have been. How else could Rose close the rift? She probably saved the whole planet. And what did she get as a thank you? They locked her up!

"Do you think she will be okay?" Mickey asked.

"I'll make sure of it", Jack said. Then he picked Rose up and left the cell with her.

Gwen held the door open for them and then followed. Jack knew these people and seemed to care about them. That made it even worse that they had locked them up.

Mickey turned around to Gwen and smiled slightly. "Thank you."

Gwen stared at him. That was the last thing she had expected to hear. "For what?"

"You said you'd help us and you did."

Gwen smiled as well. She guessed he was right about that. She just wished they didn't have to wait in that cell for a whole day before she helped getting them out.

As they entered the main room of the HUB the door of Jack's old office opened and Colonel Carter, Lt. Colonel Mitchell, Dr. Jackson and the Torchwood people came out.

"What is the meaning of this?", the new Torchwood leader called.

Jack ignored him and tried to get his anger under control as he gently put Rose down on a sofa.

"That's what I would like to know", he then said as he turned around, his eyes still sparkling with anger. Calming down didn't really work.

"This woman…" He pointed at Rose. "Closed the rift and saved the whole planet. And what do you do? You throw her into a cell and deny her medical help?!", he barked.

"You don't know if she had anything to do with closing the rift. Just because they claim that…."

Jack didn't let the man finish. "Infact I do know that that is exactly what happened! And I know these people. They have helped save the planet more than once and got trapped in an alternate reality because of it. Now they finally get home and you treat them like criminals. Did you even try to confirm their story?"

"How would we confirm such a fantastic story?", one of the new Torchwood members asked.

Jack didn't even know his name. But he didn't care. There were more important things right now.

"By checking Torchwood records. They are mentioned more than once. They are companions of the doctor!" He actually could hardly believe it. These people were even dumber than he thought. Checking records wasn't that hard, was it?

Everyone stared at him now. They obviously at least knew who the doctor was.

----- -----

Sam looked around. Things had gone well so far. Torchwood was eager to start cooperation with the Stargate program. But once they left the office things didn't seem to go that well anymore. From what she heard Jack had found out how the rift had been closed and that ancient device been shut down. The people responsible came from an alternate reality and had been imprisoned after arriving here and saving the planet.

"We didn't know who they were. They could be anyone", someone tried to defend their actions.

"And you couldn't check files to see if they are who they say they are?", Sam asked. She didn't get an answer. Glancing at Cam and Daniel they shared a look. Why did they want to cooperate with Torchwood again? This was supposed to be a highly efficient organisation that dealt with alien matters. UNIT had confirmed that, even if they didn't always agree with Torchwood on everything.

Jack glanced at Colonel Carter and his other new colleagues. They seemed to get him. Good.

"They'll come with us", he said looking at the new leader. Then he looked at Colonel Carter.

Sam wasn't really thrilled, that Jack simply made a decision like that. But he looked at her for confirmation and honestly, what else could they do? They obviously couldn't leave these people with Torchwood, especially as the woman seemed to need medical which she didn't get here. And it would be nice to find out how that woman closed the rift.

Carter nodded and Jack picked up Rose. Mitchell, Jackson and Mickey tended to Jacks bags. Noone from Torchwood said anything as they left the HUB.

Gwen followed, not wanting to stay any longer.

Once they were outside Sam glanced at Cam and Daniel. "I think we should talk to the british IOA member. Maybe he can do something about these people." Torchwood was supposed to be outside the government, but maybe the IOA had some influence anyway? Someone with half a brain in charge would be nice. No wonder they were so eager to cooperate. They'd need a lot of help. And no wonder Captain Jack Harkness left.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 7: ****LA:**

Addison Montgomery walked into John Sheppard's room, his file in hand.

John looked away from the TV and turned it off when he saw who it was.

"Please tell me you have the results of the tests and that there will be no more poking around, scanning or anything similar", he said. He had been in the hospital for hours and was taken from one room to the next. He was used to being check out in hospitals, but this seemed a little much even for him.

Addison smirked. "We just wanted to be thorough. And yes, I think we're done", she said. She hadn't been there for any of his examinations, as she was a pediatrician, but she wanted to give him the results herself. He had saved her life after all. And besides that, he was kind of hot. It might just be the whole hero thing, she was attracted to, but she didn't care. He was the first guy she was interested in since Noah. And anything that distracted her from Noah was a very good thing. She couldn't be with him. He was still married and had a baby now. And she wasn't a cheater. Not anymore!

"So?", John asked, looking at her expectantly. "What did you find, Doc?"

Addison had to smile. The way he was looking at her almost gave her chills. Yes, he was definitely hot and it wasn't just the hero thing. It was the way he looked at her, the way he sat in that bed as if nothing could bother him and the way his hair stood in all kinds of directions.

"Nothing. We didn't find a thing. You're perfectly healthy, which could be considered a miracle", she said and tried not to lean forward and run her hand through his hair.

John wasn't really surprised at the news, as he felt fine. But it was still strange. A bus hit him and he didn't even have a scratch on him. That wasn't normal.

"A miracle. Well, I'm not complaining", he said. "Does that mean I can go now?" It was too late to go to the beach now, but he could think of nicer things than spending time in a hospital. He had spent more than enough time of his life in hospitals already.

"Not yet. We want to keep you here for observation until the morning, just to be sure."

John sighed. "Too bad. I was going to ask you to dinner. But since I'm stuck here…"

Addison smirked. It was against hospital policy to get involved with patients. But since she wasn't actually his doctor and didn't really work at the hospital anyway it would be fine, wouldn't it?

"I'm free tomorrow", she said.

John sighed. He just had the one afternoon off and wasn't sure if he could manage to change his shift the next day.

"I'm only in the city today", he said regretfully. "I'm stationed outside of San Francisco at the moment. Maybe I could come to LA on my next free day."

Yeah, right, he was a soldier. She had almost forgotten about that. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to get involved with him after all. San Francisco wasn't that far away, but he could be shipped off to Iraq or any other far away part of the world any day. And he might not return. He was lucky today, but how much luck did one person have? Did she really want to risk falling for a man who might risk his life on a daily basis?

Looking at him she sighed slightly. She probably was stupid, but she was willing to give it a try.

"I'm going to give you my number. Call when you're back in LA and we can see what happens", she said.

John grinned. He almost thought she would say no. But she didn't. He was definitely looking forward to his next free day now.


	10. Chapter 10

**Day 7: LA:**

John was bored, so he explored the hospital floor a little. There was nothing interesting there, nothing but sick people. He hated seeing sick people. They always made him feel helpless. There simply was nothing he could do for them.

He was on his way back to his room when he noticed Addison coming around a corner. He grinned, glad that she hadn't left yet. She probably was here to see him before she left, as this wasn't really her floor. She was a pediatrician and didn't usually treat adults. Well, she wasn't treating him. He had a feeling that her visits weren't really for medical reasons. And he liked that.

He hurried to catch up with her.

"Here to see me?", he asked while falling into step with her.

Addison stopped and turned to him. "You caught me", she said with a smile. She had been called away earlier to deliver a baby. Now it was rather late, but she didn't want to leave before saying goodbye to John. Who knew if she'd see him again the next day?

John grinned, glad to hear that she infact was here for him.

Addison's eyes were fixed on him. He was standing rather close and her heart started to beat faster. The urge to close the distance between them was getting bigger by the second.

John noticed the way she was looking at him. He was sure she felt the same way he did. He was about to lean in and kiss her when he suddenly saw someone walking towards them. He wasn't really sure what made him pull his attention away from the hot redheaded woman infront of him, but he did. He looked at a woman a few feet away and froze.

Addison could feel the tension building up between them. She was sure he'd kiss her. But then his attention suddenly changed and he focused on something else. Addison frowned and followed his gaze. A woman in a hospital gown was walking in their direction.

"Do you know her?", she asked. She had seen when the woman was brought in and later heard nurses talking about her. Apparently the woman had been found naked in an alley and couldn't even remember her own name. She probably had been the victim of an attack and suppressed her memories due to the shock.

"Elizabeth", John muttered, barely hearing what Addison said. But it couldn't be her, could it? Elizabeth was dead. Her body had been destroyed and her conscience was trapped in a replicator body somewhere in space in the Pegasus Galaxy, or dead as well. He wasn't really sure what happened to the mind of a replicator when they floated around space.

"You do know her", Addison said. That was good. They needed all the information they could get about her. She however wasn't too happy about the fact that John seemed to have forgotten her completely. Well, they could sort that out later. Now they needed to help the poor woman. Maybe her memory would come back when she saw John.

"Come on", she said and pulled John with her.

John blinked, coming out of his state of shock, as Addison pulled him towards Elizabeth who was just about to enter a room.

"Elizabeth?", Addison asked. It was the name John said and she hoped the woman would respond to it. But she didn't, so she stepped closer.

"Excuse me. I'm Dr. Montgomery", she said.

Elizabeth turned around when the Dr. approached her. She didn't know the woman. Or did she? How was she supposed to know? She didn't even know who she was. She had no memories about her own life and didn't know what happened to her to make her end up in a hospital. All she remembered was waking up here. Doctors had asked her a lot of questions and examined her. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with her physically. But the loss of memory frightened her. Why couldn't she remember? What happened to her?

The Doctor was saying something, but Elizabeth didn't get it. She tried to focus and pay attention. Then she heard another voice and saw a man standing half behind the Doctor.

"Elizabeth?", John asked. She seemed pale and uncertain, so unlike the strong woman he used to know. But it couldn't be her anyway, could it? This woman looked exactly like her however. Just like the replicator version of her had. Could she be a replicator? But how would she have managed to get to earth?

Elizabeth looked at the man. She knew that voice. She didn't know how. She didn't recognize him either, but she had a feeling that she should.

"I know you", she said a little uncertain.

"You do?", Addison asked and smiled a little. That definitely was a good thing. She waved a nurse over.

"Let's go into your room and talk", she then suggested.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 7: Atlantis infirmary:**

"Is it really her?", John asked looking from Carson Beckett to Jennifer Keller. After talking to Elizabeth and her Doctors at the hospital he had contacted Atlantis and arranged an immediate relocation. No way was he going to stay over night and leave Elizabeth there as well – if it was her.

"It looks that way. We compared her fingerprints and DNA. It's Elizabeth. And it's not a clone", Carson said.

"She isn't a replicator either. We didn't find any replicator cells in her body at all", Jennifer added.

John frowned. He really wanted to believe that it was Elizabeth, but how was it possible?

"She doesn't have a twin, does she?", he asked.

"Not according to her records", Carson answered.

"I really think it's Elizabeth Weir", Jennifer said.

"But how?", John wanted to know.

"Have you considered the possibility that she ascended?", Jennifer said. "I read all about Dr. Jackson's ascension. When he came back he lost his memory temporarily and he arrived naked, just like Elizabeth did."

John frowned. He really didn't like the idea of Elizabeth lying in an alley naked. He didn't even want to think about what could have happened to her.

"It's a possibility, I guess", Carson said.

"I thought replicators couldn't ascend", John stated.

"But Elizabeth wasn't a real replicator. Her mind would still have been human, no matter how much her body was altered. I think it might have been possible for her to ascend", Jennifer said.

"I guess we won't know for sure what happened until she regains her memory", Carson said with a sigh.

----- ----- -----

Rose Tyler opened her eyes. The room she was in was slightly lit, but not too bright. It smelled like hospital. Memories came back to her. They travelled through the rift. Did they make it back? She had been so sure before. But that was Bad Wolf, right? She didn't feel anything like that now. Bad Wolf was gone, probably sleeping or something. She was just herself right now.

"Rose?"

She blinked and tried to focus as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She knew that voice. A man was sitting down on the side of her bed. She blinked once more and he came into focus. Her eyes widened and a smile appeared on her lips.

"Jack! Oh my god it's really you, isn't it?"

"You can bet on it", he said and spread his arms wide.

Her smile widened into a big grin as she threw herself into his arms and held on tightly. She really made it. She was back in her own reality. And Jack was there! There was only one other person she'd be happier to see.

Jack gently placed a kiss on her head as he wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"Welcome home! And thanks for saving the whole planet." He grinned, feeling happy.

Rose chuckled slightly. "Thanks, it's good to be home. And you're welcome. Couldn't let the world be destroyed seconds after I got home." She wasn't really sure what Bad Wolf did, but she remembered more of it than she used to. She knew the rift was getting out of control and that Bad Wolf did something about it.

Jack chuckled as well.

"Hey. It's my turn now", Mickey called as he stepped closer to the bed.

Jack still chuckled as he finally let go of Rose.

Rose grinned and hugged Mickey.

"You gave me quite a scare, you know."

"Sorry, but it wasn't really like I had much saying in all of that." Bad Wolf simply took over whenever it wanted, or maybe when it needed to. Rose didn't feel like she was being taken over or controlled. Bad Wolf might scare her a little, because it was all so strange, but not because she was afraid of it. She could feel that it wasn't trying to harm her. And how could it? The power that was Bad Wolf now came from the TARDIS. There was nothing threatening or evil about the TARDIS at all.

Jack raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you okay?"

Rose smiled and let go of Mickey again.

"I'm back home, why wouldn't I be okay? I'm great!"

Jack and Mickey grinned.

----- ----- -----

John was leaning against the wall in Elizabeth's room in the infirmary. She was sleeping. He hadn't spoken to her again after bringing her here. It just felt wrong. If she really was Elizabeth he probably was one of the last people she wanted to see. He was kind of responsible for her death after all. First he left her with the replicators. Then he didn't go back for her. And after she came back – in another replicator body – he told her she wasn't herself and let her go through the Stargate into space, where she had to die.

If Elizabeth really ascended and came back she would regain her memories and know what he did. She seemed to know him somehow when they met at the hospital and he had the feeling that she liked being around him. He felt really glad about that. But he knew things would change when she remembered. It wouldn't be fair to take advantage of her lack of memory and spend a lot of time with her now, just because he wanted to. And he really did. He missed her so much. Elizabeth had always been one of the most important persons in his life. It was killing him inside to think about what he did to her, which was why he usually pushed the thoughts away as far as possible.

He sighed. He really shouldn't be here. It was late and Elizabeth needed rest. But he just had to see her. And as it wasn't a good idea to be with her while she was awake, he waited until she was asleep.

John sighed again, pushed away from the wall and turned around to leave. He shouldn't be here.

"John?"

Hearing her voice John twirled around. Great, he woke her up. He shouldn't have come in the first place.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay. I'm glad you're here." She still couldn't remember anything about her life, even though she had been told a lot. But she just knew that she did know John. It wasn't that she could actually remember anything about him. It was more like a feeling of familiarity. He made her feel safe and at home. She had actually tried to stay awake, hoping he would visit her. But he didn't come and she eventually fell asleep. But now he was here.

John was torn between feeling happy at hearing her words and feeling guilty. She wouldn't be glad to see him if she remembered. He should leave, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Would you stay a little? Tell me about myself and my life? How did we meet?" She stopped and sighed. "Sorry. There's so much I don't know. I want to understand." A lot of people had been here to visit her. They were supposed to be her friends. They told her a bit about her. One of them even said that he knew what she was going through. He lost his memory some years ago. But he got it back and was sure it would be the same for her. That made her feel a little better. It however was nothing against what she felt when John was around. Not remembering anything scared her. But she kind of remembered John, which made her feel a lot better. Maybe if he told her more she would remember.

John felt a little uneasy, but stepped closer to the bed and sat down in a chair next to it.

Elizabeth smiled, glad he was staying.

John wasn't really sure what to tell her. Was it a good idea to let her know about the Stargate, aliens and Atlantis? Why not? It was the life she lived. Leaving out important stuff wouldn't help her regain her memories. And he really wanted her to remember. He wanted Elizabeth back, even if he was sure that she'd be mad at him.

"Alright, let's start at the beginning", he said and began to tell her how they met at the ancient outpost in Antarctica and how she wanted him to join an expedition to another galaxy.

"That sounds like out of a science fiction movie", Elizabeth said.

John chuckled. "Yeah, that's our life. Totally _sci-fi_."

Elizabeth laughed. She liked the way he joked, chuckled, the way he grinned at her and the way he talked. It all felt familiar as well.

"Okay, let's hear more of our _sci-fi lives_."

John grinned. It was so good to have her back. She might not know who she was yet, but the way she spoke, the way she raised an eyebrow and the way she laughed was all so Elizabeth. It might be wrong to spend time with her like this, but he was glad that he stayed anyway.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 8: Atlantis infirmary:**

"Morning", Martha said as she walked towards Rose Tyler's bed. She was bringing her breakfast. It usually was the nurses' job. But this was Rose! She had heard so much about her and so little at the same time. She wanted to meet her, get to know the famous Rose by herself.

"Morning", Rose said cheerfully and gave the woman a smile.

Rose was definitely pretty and she had a nice smile. She seemed so cheerful, that Martha couldn't help but smile back. She had felt second best behind this woman for so long, had sometimes even hated her. It was weird to smile at her now. But watching this smiling young woman start to eat Martha couldn't help but feel silly. How could she hate her? She simply didn't. She was just jealous. But she had changed a lot since 'the year that never was' and since leaving the doctor. She felt like she had actually grown up now.

"So, how are you feeling?", she asked. She had had a look at Roses test results. They had checked her through thoroughly. There were some unusual components in her test results, but apart from that she seemed perfectly fine. And who could be surprised by those unusual results? Rose was different after all. She had absorbed the time vortex. She heard it while the doctor told Jack about it. And they all experienced how different Rose was when she closed the rift. The whole city had started to shake. There were earthquake news on the radio and TV afterwards. This all probably would have ended badly if it wasn't for the woman sitting in the hospital bed now. Rose really was a heroine. Martha sighed. She had to remind herself that she wasn't so bad herself. She had saved the world, too. Without her Rose probably wouldn't have a nice world to come back to.

"I'm fine. Really, y'all shouldn't worry about me", Rose said after swallowing some orange juice. She really didn't think anything was wrong with her, well besides the fact that she obviously still had Bad Wolf in her. But this was exactly why she knew she was fine. She didn't think Bad Wold would let anything happen to her. She had just been exhausted and drained.

Martha smiled slightly. "I'm a doctor. I worry about people all the time."

Rose glanced at the woman a little surprised. She had thought she was a nurse. Doctors didn't bring meals, did they?

"Dr. Jones. Martha", Martha then said, realizing that she hadn't introduced herself.

"Rose Tyler. Nice to meet you." She smiled, but started to wonder why the woman was still here. She didn't examine her, didn't check her file, or whatever doctors usually did.

Martha glanced down for a moment. This really did feel odd. What was she supposed to talk to Rose about? She couldn't just say something like 'by the way, I travelled with the doctor after he lost you', could she?

"So… I called the doctor", she then blurted out.

Rose glanced at her. "I thought you were my doct…. oh, _the doctor_." A smile appeared on her face at the thought of him. But then it slightly faded again. How did this woman know the doctor? "You know him then?"

Martha smiled a little. "Yes, I do know him, used to travel with him." She couldn't help but smile at the memories of travelling through time and space. Despite getting her heart broken she still loved the time she spent with the doctor. How could she not? She had seen so many amazing things.

Rose noticed the smile on the woman's face. Yes, she definitely was a companion, just like her and like Sarah Jane. She had that sparkle in her eyes, like she had seen more than most people would ever see in their lives. But when did she travel with him? Was it before or after he met her? Was this woman her _replacement_? A wave of jealousy rushed through her. Oh god, he replaced her. What if he didn't even want her anymore? Maybe he moved on like he moved on from Sarah Jane? But he had asked Sarah Jane to join them again, hadn't he? He would let her travel with him again, wouldn't he? Of course he would! But what if he didn't care about her anymore? The last time she saw him she told him that she loved him. What if he hadn't wanted to hear it? What if that changed everything?

"He didn't answer his phone, so I left him a message. I'm sure he'll be here soon."

That pulled Rose out of her thoughts. "Really?" The grin returned to her face. She'd soon see him again. She glanced down at herself.

"I need to get out of this hospital gown. Where are my clothes?"

Martha chuckled slightly. Oh yes, she had it bad. Of course she did. Who didn't love the doctor? The only difference in Roses case was that he returned her feelings. Martha sighed. She had moved on. She accepted that there would never be more than friendship between her and the doctor. She even fell in love again. But it hadn't worked out with Thomas. They just hardly saw eachother with her job at UNIT. It all got worse when she was transferred to the US. She guessed he just wasn't the right one. That was what she did envy Rose for now. She had found the right guy and he was amazing.

"How about you finish your breakfast. Then I show you to your room and you can get changed", she suggested.

Rose looked at her and smiled. Martha did seem nice. And it was silly to be jealous of another companion. She had learned that with Sarah Jane already. There were so few people who led the life she did, so few who understood her. Why waste time being at odds with them? She still would have to have a word with the doctor if he just replaced her, though.

"So, when did you travel with him?", she asked while quickly getting back to her breakfast to finish it soon.

"I left him about a year ago. Something happened…. I just felt like I needed to stay with my family after that." She left out the other reason for leaving.

"We travelled together for about a year. He showed me some amazing things."

Rose smiled. She had noticed Martha's sad look when she spoke about leaving the doctor and her family. Something bad must have happened. But the sparkle in her eyes was back when she went on.

"Tell me about it", she answered chuckling. "There is so much out there. All these amazing planets, and all of history. There is nothing more exciting than travelling in the TARDIS."

Martha grinned. "Definitely not. The part I loved most was when we opened the door and looked out into a brand new world for the first time."

"Ah, getting to know eachother already", Jack said coming closer.

Martha and Rose both looked at him and smiled.

"So, how are my favourite two companions doing?"

"Just fine", Rose said and then pushed the food tray away. "Done. What about that room I can get changed in? And is there a shower I can use?"

"Sure. Come on, I'll show you", Martha said.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 7: Atlantis ****- gate room:**

"Ready to beam out", Cameron Mitchell said. A second later he, Lt. Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay disappeared. They had a meeting with Torchwood 1 in London.

"Come on, we're next", Sam called. While the others were going to Torchwood she, Becker, Stephen Hart and Daniel would go to the Arc. She wanted to check out the anomaly research center for herself and she wasn't too thrilled to deal with Torchwood again today, so she decided to let Cam and John do the honors of organizing a cooperation. Rodney went along incase they needed help with anything scientific. It was a possibility after all, judging by Torchwood 3's lack of competence yesterday.

Becker stepped next to the Colonel and waited.

Stephen followed. He was a little nervous about seeing his friends and colleagues again. They all thought he was dead after all.

Daniel hurried over and zipped up his jacket. He had been doing research and was a little late.

"Ready", Sam informed the Daedalus and they were beamed out.

Mac was next. She was going back to London to help Harm pack. It was her fault they had to move, so the least she could do was help him a little while she still could. Tomorrow she'd get her team and step through the Stargate for the first time. She'd be busy then.

"Ready", she announced and was beamed out as well.


	11. Chapter 11

I was a little busy the past days and will still be. I need to write some papers for uni. 

But I'll try to find time to update this story anyway.

There is a slight change of plans. In the beginning I thought I'd make Sally Sparrow a new companion of the doctor. But I decided against it. She will come into the story in another way.

I've watched Torchwood season 3 this week. I'm not going to include much from it into my story, but some things will be in it.

**----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- **

**Day 8: London – the Arc (= Anomaly Research Center)****:**

Captain Becker had introduced Colonel Carter and Dr. Jackson to James Lester. Then he and Stephen went off to find the others.

Abby and Connor apparently were in the kitchen for a late lunch.

Standing in the doorway Jason grinned as Abby wiped something off of Connors cheek.

Abby put away the napkin and then noticed that someone was standing in the doorway.

"Becker", she called and then rushed forward and hugged him. She hadn't known how much she'd actually miss him until he left.

Jason was surprised by the hug, but didn't mind. Abby stepped back again and Connor came forward with a grin.

"No hug from me", Connor said with a slight grimace and a laugh. Instead they shook hands in a manly manner.

"Missed us already?", Abby wanted to know. "Maybe you shouldn't have left." She crossed her arms infront of her chest.

Jason grinned a little. "Maybe a little. My new job is quite interesting though."

Abby raised an eyebrow. What could possibly be interesting after you worked for the Arc? When you travelled through time, saw the past, the future and all kinds of creatures anything had to pale in comparison.

"… and helped me bring you a little present", Jason added. Then he turned around, grabbed Stephen by the arm and pulled him from the corridor into the kitchen, practically placing him infront of the clueless Abby and Connor.

Stephen winced slightly when he stood in the kitchen. He had been waiting in the hall, wondering what he should say, but didn't manage to come up with anything brilliant.

"Hi", he said instead and waved a little.

Abby's mouth dropped slightly open as she stared at the man infront of her.

"Oh my god", she muttered. Then she stepped forward and flung herself into his arms.

Stephen almost had to take a step back due to the force with which Abby threw herself at him. A smile then appeared on his face as he wrapped his arms around her. Things had been a little off between them before he almost died. But she had a special place in his heart and always would have.

Still holding Abby close Stephen glanced at Connor, whose mouth was hanging wide open in shock. He grinned.

"Nice to see you, too, Connor", he said.

Connor closed his mouth, but still stared at Stephen. "You died."

"Not really", Stephen answered.

Abby slowly let go of him while wiping a tear out of her eye. Glancing up at Stephen she still couldn't believe that he was actually back.

"What happened?", she asked.

"Most of it is classified", he answered.

"Bullshit", Abby objected. Nothing was too classified for them.

"But…", Stephen went on as if she hadn't interrupted. "…basically I travelled through time and ended up at Jason's new place of work."

"Jason?", Connor muttered looking a little confused.

Abby hit him in the chest half-heartedly. "Becker", she said in explanation.

"Oh. Right."

Jason just smirked. Then he excused himself, leaving the three of them to reunite while he'd look for Sarah and Danny.

"I didn't know his first name was Jason", Connor complained silently.

Abby frowned. "We worked with the guy for a year!"

Stephen chuckled. Obviously they hadn't changed a bit.

Abby then turned back to Stephen, a smile appearing on her face. He was alive! It hit her hard when she thought he died. There hadn't really been anything but friendship between them, but she once wanted more. Stephen meant a lot to her and still did. It was like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders now that he was back.

Connor shrugged, then looked at Stephen again and grinned. "You do get a hug", he exclaimed and stepped forward, briefly hugging his friend.

Stephen smirked. It looked like they really missed him.

"We didn't detect an anomaly", Abby then said as Connor stepped back again.

"There was none. Something else happened."

"Something other than an anomaly made you travel through time?", Connor asked, feeling both surprised and curious.

Stephen nodded.

"You're kidding?!", Abby muttered.

"No. It's hard to believe, but the Arc isn't earths biggest secret."

"Then what is?", Connor wanted to know.

Stephen grimaced. He really didn't want to break his non-disclosure agreement before officially starting to work for the Stargate program.

"I really can't tell you."

"What… they'd shoot you otherwise?", Connor asked jokingly.

When Stephen didn't say anything his eyes widened. "Really?"

Stephen started to laugh. "No, or at least I don't think so. But I'd probably lose my new job."

"New job?", Abby asked shocked. "You're not coming back?" They just got him back and he was already leaving again?

"No. I got sacked, remember."

"Cutter didn't really mean that. Besides he's…", Connor didn't finish the sentence. Did Stephen know what happened to Nick Cutter?

Stephen sighed. He really didn't want to think about Cutter and the fact that he was dead.

"Did Becker tell you about…?"

"Yes", Stephen said interrupting Abby. "I'm sorry I wasn't here", he then added. Maybe he could have prevented it somehow. Yeah right. He probably would never have believed that Helen would actually pull the trigger. He was too trusting for his own good. He definitely had to work on that.

"It's not your fault. There was nothing you could have done. And besides, you already gave your life to save him and a lot of other people once", Abby said.

"I didn't die."

"You did to us", Abby stated and tears were threatening to fall again. "There was nothing left besides a few DNA traces, but we thought you were in there!" She believed he had been eaten alive. Whenever she thought of it she started feeling sick.

"I'm sorry, Abby", Stephen said and pulled her into his arms again. He hadn't really thought about how much his supposed death would affect them. The only thing he thought about was that he couldn't let Nick die. The man was his best friend, no matter their differences.

Abby wrapped her arms around Stephen again, holding on tightly as if afraid that he'd disappear again.

Connor watched Abby and Stephen and gulped. He really didn't like to see them like that. Of course he understood that she was glad to see him again. They thought he was dead after all. Even he had the urge to hug him. But he knew that Abby used to have feelings for Stephen. After she kissed him a few weeks ago Connor really hoped that he had a chance with her after all. But now?

Abby let go of Stephen again and wiped away her tears. She hated being all whiney.

"Lester wants to see you in the conference room", someone then told them and they left the kitchen.

----- -----

"Aliens. I knew it", Connor exclaimed. He had started to write his dissertation about aliens before Cutter threw it into the trash.

Everyone glared at him.

"What? I really did. Come on, the universe is so big. We can't possible be the only living creatures in it", he stated.

Sam smirked. He was a believer, and as much as most people thought believers were crazy, he was right.

After talking to James Lester, Sam had decided to grant the main members of the Arc security clearance. They signed a non-disclosure agreement and were told the truth about the Stargate program and the occurrences that led to Stephen's arrival in Atlantis. She hadn't asked Jack for permission, but was sure that he'd agree that there couldn't be a real cooperation unless they knew what was actually going on.

"So, you still have living dinosaurs?", Abby then asked.

"Yes", Daniel answered. "And we will turn them over to you. Hopefully you can find a way to get them home."

Abby smiled, feeling glad about that.

"What about this Stargate, can you tell me more about it? How does it work?", Connor wanted to know.

"Sam can tell you all about that", Daniel stated and pushed her slightly in his direction. He was more interested in having a talk with Dr. Sarah Page.

"You're an Egyptologist, right?", he asked while sitting down next to her.

Sarah nodded. Then her eyes widened a little as she realized why this man looked so familiar.

"OMG, you're _the_ Dr. Jackson. You published something about pyramids being landing places for alien ships", she said. Dr. Jackson was somewhat of a laugh in the scientific community. But after what she heard today she looked at him in a very different light.

"And you were right", she added placing her hand over her mouth.

Daniel smiled. It really was good to hear that from someone. He knew he was right and so did everyone in the Stargate program. But it was still hard not to be able to tell people that he actually was right.

"But you can't let the public know."

"No." He sighed. Sometimes he really wanted to. But he had mostly learned to live with it by now.

"That must be hard", Sarah said. She was sure that it would be hard for her.

Daniel nodded, but then shrugged. "It's nothing compared to what I've seen out there", he said and grinned. "You really should come by sometime and I can show you things you wouldn't believe are possible."

Sarah grinned. "Really? I'll be there on my next free day."

Daniel grinned. He was definitely looking forward to that.

-----

Sam looked at Connor Temple, feeling rather impressed. He was so young and already put together the anomaly detection device on his own. After she told him about the Stargate he had started showing her his work.

"Impressive", she said.

Connor practically beamed at her. It was good to finally be able to talk to someone who actually understood what he was talking about.

"We should be able to build our own detector soon", she said. With Atlantis technology it should be no problem at all.

"Call, if you need help."

"Thanks, will do", Sam said with a smile.

"I built something else", Connor then said and led her to a storage room.

Sam followed him and looked at what he was showing her.

"A MALP", she said with a smirk.

Connor turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"We have something similar. We call them Mobile Analytic Laboratory Probes, in short MALP. They help us to determine what's on the other end of a Stargate before going through."

Connor grinned widely. "That's exactly what we use this for. If we actually have to go through an anomaly, I mean." Usually they preferred to just send back whatever came through.

"We should compare notes about them", Sam suggested, which earned her another one of Connors big smiles. She definitely liked the guy. He was eager to learn and eager to share as well. She had a feeling that this cooperation would work very well.

-----

Jenny Lewis walked into the main room of the Arc. It felt strange to be back. A part of her had wondered for a while if it was the right decision to quit. She thought she could move on with her life better if she got some distance between herself and the Arc, where Nick Cutter had worked. But it hadn't really worked so far. She was worrying about her former colleagues and friends all the time and her new job bored her almost to death.

"So, what's so important that I needed to come by immediately?", she asked putting her hands on her hips.

Danny Quinn got up when he heard her voice. A smile appeared on his face. He had really missed Jenny a lot.

"Welcome back", he said as he strode towards her and then gave her a brief hug.

"I'm not _back_. I just got a call that there was something here that I had to see at once." She tried to sound annoyed, but Jenny had to admit to herself that she actually liked being back. The Arc kind of felt like home.

"Not something…", Danny said. Then he stepped out of the way.

"Someone", another voice said. She turned to look at the group of people. Abby was there, as well as Sarah, a man she didn't know and Becker. But none of them had spoken. Her mouth almost dropped open when her eyes fell on the man standing a few feet away.

"Stephen?", she asked unbelievingly.

Stephen smiled and walked towards her.

Jenny stared at him as he came closer. This couldn't be real, could it? Stephen was dead.

"It's really you, isn't it?" she asked.

Stephen nodded. Then she hugged him.

"How is this possible?" she asked as she let go of him again. "Don't tell me this has something to do with altered timelines or whatever."

Stephen chuckled, but then shook his head. "Nothing like that. And you're the only one I remember, no Claudia Brown."

Jenny smiled slightly.

"Why don't we sit down while Stephen explains", Danny suggested.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 8: Torchwood London:**

"They do seem more competent than the ones yesterday", Cameron Mitchell muttered as he, John Sheppard and Rodney McKay were sitting in a room together. Torchwood 1 was located in Canary Wharf, London. Apparently it had been destroyed a few years ago according to Captain Harkness. But they had rebuilt and everything looked really high tech.

So far they had gotten a tour through the huge building, but probably hadn't been shown the real interesting stuff.

"The food is excellent", Rodney muttered before putting another peace of muffin into his mouth. He hadn't been thrilled to go to Torchwood today, as he had much more important stuff to do in Atlantis, but now he didn't mind so much anymore.

"I'm glad you enjoy it here", John said a little sarcastically. He actually would have preferred to stay in Atlantis and spend some more time with Elizabeth. She had started to remember some things when he spoke about them, which was a good sign. But someone had to check out Torchwood 1, and apparently it needed to be him.

"Mr. Stanton will be with you again soon."

Cam looked up as the assistant came into the room. She had been with them the whole time, probably organized everything. She was nice and pat of why he had the feeling these people were more competent than Torchwood 3.

A second later they heard an alarm.

Cam and John were on their feet in a second. Rodney looked up a little irritated and swallowed the last of his muffin.

----- -----

"I just read this", Sally Sparrow said placing a paper on Mr. Stanton's desk.

"I don't have time for this right now, Miss…"

"Sparrow. Sally Sparrow."

Right. She was one of the interns, if he remembered right. She had been found investigating alien matters a few months ago and was offered a job, as Torchwood 1 needed re-staffing after it's reopening. But just because she worked here now, didn't mean she could show up in his office whenever she wanted to. He had more important matters to tend to right now. The members of the Stargate program were here. He needed to make this cooperation work. Apparently they had space ships, very powerful technology and a Stargate through which you could travel to other planets. Torchwood definitely needed to gain access to stuff like that.

"I have a very important meeting right now", he said while getting up. "Make an appointment with my assistant Lois." Stepping around his desk he headed for the door.

"But it's important", Sally protested. "Torchwood moved the angels."

Mr. Stanton frowned. Angels? What was she talking about? And who cared about angels?

"Later, Miss Sparrow."

Sally followed him out of the office. She needed to tell him what the angels could do. They were frozen after the doctor tricked them. But who knew what happened when they were moved and no longer looked at eachother.

Before she caught up with Stanton an alarm went off.

----- -----

John, Cam and Rodney left the room, even though the assistant tried to calm them down and make them stay. Mr. Stanton was a few feet away and John walked towards him.

"What's going on?", he asked.

Lois looked at her boss apologetically. She had tried to keep them in the conference room, but they just wouldn't listen to her.

"I don't know yet", Stanton answered. "Let's go into my office." He led the way.

Once in the office Stanton contacted his people, trying to figure out what caused the alarm.

"_Something is here"_, someone reported a few minutes later.

"What is it, Fint?", Stanton wanted to know.

"_I don't…."_ The answer just stopped.

"Fint?" No answer. "Fint, are you still there?"

"Where are our weapons?", Cam asked. He had a bad feeling about this.

Stanton frowned. Torchwood didn't allow any guest to carry weapons inside their building. But under the circumstances it might be good to have some protection, right? He had no idea what was happening after all. Besides, he wanted to gain these people's trust. Infact he had been ordered by his boss to do _everything_ to ensure this cooperation.

He glanced at his assistant and nodded.

Lois pulled out her keys and went into her office next door. "Come with me", she said.

A few minutes later they were back in Stanton's office, fully armed. John definitely did feel better.

"Any news on the cause of the alarm?", Rodney asked. He wished he had access to the systems and could figure it out himself. He hated not to know what was going on. And alarms usually weren't a good thing. They had just seen that again a few days ago.

"Not really. I have reports about something or someone moving around the building. But noone can tell me what or who exactly it is."

"The angels", Sally said from the corner of the office.

Stanton sighed. "Not now, Miss Sparrow!"

John frowned at the man and turned to the young woman. "What did you say?"

Sally swallowed, but then straightened up. This was her chance to finally tell people what she feared had happened.

"I saw a file about Torchwood moving angel statues this morning. I have encountered these specific angels before. They are aliens and if Torchwood 'woke' them up we are in big trouble."

"Torchwood didn't wake anything up", Mr. Stanton insisted.

"Let's hear her out", Cam stated, then turned to Sally. "Tell us everything you know about these aliens."

Sally was glad that someone at last seemed to value her information.

"I encountered them about 1 ½ years ago. They are statues as long as you look at them. But when you turn away or even blink they come to life and move really fast."

Rodney gulped and glanced around the room quickly.

"Look in all directions", John called and he and Cam stood back to back at once. Rodney joined them, pulling his gun as well.

Stanton glanced around, not feeling too happy about this information. "We don't know if it really are those angels."

"So it's all just a coincidence that something is moving around and people disappear on the same day you moved the angels? I bet you didn't place them somewhere looking at eachother, did you?"

Stanton had no idea what exactly happened to those statues. He had been busy with more important stuff.

"What do you mean, people disappear? What do those angels do to people?", Cam asked.

"If they touch you they send you back in time."

"Oh great", John said groaning. "I _hate_ time travel!"

"So we're up against an alien race that turns into stone and can send you back in time by touching you?", Cam summed it all up.

"Yes", Sally said.

"Why do they turn to stone?", Lois wanted to know.

"It's a defence mechanism. They are quantum locked, or something", Sally explained.

"What?", John asked, glancing at her.

"It's what the doctor said. They turn to stone when seen, so they can't get killed."

"The doctor?", Stanton asked. "You know _the_ doctor?"

Sally nodded. "We've met, briefly. He helped me defeat the angels the first time."

Stanton looked at Sally, suddenly seeing her in a different light.

"Really? What is he like?"

"Can we talk about that later?", John asked, feeling a little annoyed.

"So, how do we kill them?", Cam asked.

"They can't be killed. The doctor said they turn to stone, because stone can't be killed."

"Bullshit. I bet they die when they get blown up", John stated.

They all glanced at Sally, who shrugged.

"It's worth a try", Cam stated. "Do you have any C-4 with you?"

John frowned. "No. You?" They were just here to work out a cooperation, not to blow up aliens.

Cam shook his head.

"We have explosives", Lois said.

"Where?"

"I can show you."

"Alright. Let's move out. You four stay between us", Cam said gesturing at Sally, Lois, Rodney and Stanton."

"Do… do I have to come?", Stanton asked.

"If you'd rather stay here, be me guest", Rodney called, feeling a little irritated. He tended to feel that way if his life was in danger.

Sally turned to her boss. "You sure? I think you're safer with us. You can't look in all directions at once. And you have to blink eventually."

Stanton gulped and looked a little terrified.

"Don't blink. Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast, faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink. Good luck", Sally quoted.

Everyone turned to her. "It's what the doctor told me."

Stanton was by their side in the blink of an eye. "I think I better come with you. You might need my help."

John rolled his eyes and shared a look with Cam. Then they opened the door and left the room. Cam was in front, Lois and Sally behind him, looking to the front, right and left. Behind them Stanton and Rodney looked backwards, right and left. John was last, moving backwards.

"It's this way", Lois informed them and they continued on their way, following Lois instructions.

Then they suddenly heard movement. Someone or something was coming towards them fast.

They stopped, guns raised.

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----

That's it for now. The next chapter will be up as soon as I find time to write more.

If you want to know more about the angels, check out this: .com/wiki/Weeping_Angel and/or this: .com/watch?v=EwFIu4Demx8&feature=related

I don't know if the angels could move again if they no longer looked at eachother. For the purpose of my story they can. ;-)


	12. Chapter 12

**Day 8: Torchwood London:**

Ianto Jones ran through a corridor towards the weapons storage room. Something strange was going on and he needed to be properly armed. One gun just wasn't enough if bad turned to worse.

Turning around a corner Ianto then stopped. A group of people was standing there. At least three of them were armed and guns were pointed in his direction.

"Mr. Jones", Stanton called and looked rather relieved to see one of his people.

"Mr. Stanton, Lois", Ianto greeted and then nodded at the others.

"Did you see what's happening?", Lois wanted to know.

"No, I only heard screams and saw shadows. I'm on my way to get some more weapons."

"That's where we're heading", Cam said.

"And you are?", Ianto wanted to know.

Stanton introduced them as they started walking again.

"It's that room", Lois said after a few minutes.

Ianto stepped forward to open the door, but it was locked. He pulled his Torchwood–ID through the door opener, but nothing happened.

"It's locked and won't open", he informed.

Stanton stepped forward and tried his own card. Nothing happened.

"It's the angels. They locked us in the last time, too", Sally said.

"Crap", John muttered. Then he turned to Rodney. "Get that door open."

Rodney frowned, but stepped towards the door. Unfortunately the cover of the door opener was bolted to the wall.

"Does anyone have a screwdriver?", he asked sounding annoyed.

"Use this", John instructed and threw a pocket knife towards Rodney.

Time passed as Rodney worked on the door opener.

"Be careful or you'll cause a short-circuit", Stanton warned.

Rodney turned around and glared at the man.

"Get him out of my way, will you?", he muttered glancing at John and Cam.

"He knows what he's doing", John stated and pushed Stanton away from Rodney.

Then the lights started to flicker.

Sally looked up and gulped. "They are coming. They can turn the lights off so noone can see them."

"Who exactly are they?", Ianto wanted to know.

"Aliens who can send you back in time by touching you. So, don't let them touch you and don't look away. They turn to stone when you look at them", Cam quickly told him while keeping an eye on their surroundings and turning the light of his p-90 on.

John briefly turned to Rodney. "What's taking so long?", he asked.

"I'm not familiar with the system. But I'm doing my best."

The lights flickered again.

"Open the damn door, Rodney!"

Rodney turned to glare at John just as the door opened.

"Alright, let's move", Cam called while entering the room first and checking that it was safe.

"Clear", he called and everyone followed him quickly.

Once they were all inside John closed the door and stood guard.

"Where are the explosives?", Cam asked.

Ianto raised an eyebrow, but showed the man.

"We're not going to blow up the building, right?", Stanton asked. "We just rebuilt."

"You want those things to send you back in time, or stay here and risk the building?", John asked with a frown.

Cam stashed explosives into his vest, then handed some to John. After that he looked at the rest of the room. Noticing guns he grabbed three and handed them to Sally, Lois and Stanton.

"What good are they going to be against stone?" Sally asked.

"They aren't always stone. Shoot if you have to blink", Cam suggested.

Well, the idea wasn't that bad, Sally thought and looked at the gun. She had had one shooting lesson so far, that was it. She mostly carried around files, sent e-mails and answered phones.

"That's the safety", Cam explained pointing at it. "Don't shoot at eachother!"

Ianto came back and handed everyone a flashlight. "We might need those."

Sally smiled at him. "Good thinking", she said.

"Are we ready then?", Lois wanted to know. She wanted to get this over with as fast as possible. She was just a PA, not a Torchwood operative. She had never even held a gun before.

"Now we are", Cam said showing up with a rocket launcher. "That should kill them", he stated with a grin.

John smirked. He liked the way Mitchell was thinking.

Stanton quivered slightly, not wanting to imagine how the building would look once they were finished.

"Let's go."

Ten minutes later they were walking through the building slowly, trying to look into all directions.

"I think I heard something", Stanton said.

Cam placed his finger infront of his lips. Then he moved forward, turning around a corner. He froze and quickly took a step back. A statue of an angel was standing infront of him, it's face a grotesque mask. One arm was reaching towards him.

"Keep looking at it", Sally said stepping next to him. "And don't blink!"

Lois went to Cam's other side. If they all looked at it, it couldn't move, right? They wouldn't all blink at the same time.

"Move back", Cam whispered. Then he stepped back as well and fired the rocket launcher just before throwing himself around the corner.

John quickly pulled the women down and covered them with his body. Ianto pushed Stanton down before dropping to the ground as well. Rodney covered against the wall.

A few seconds later John looked up and let go of Sally and Lois. Turning around he saw Cam on the ground and hurried over to him.

Sally pushed herself up and looked around quickly. Lois followed her example. Ianto was by their side quickly.

"Is it dead?", Lois asked and stepped forward to peer around the corner.

"Be careful", John warned and then turned Cam around who was knocked out cold.

Ianto pushed Lois behind himself and stepped forward, gun raised. There was a lot of debris lying around, a wall was partly gone and pieces of stone were everywhere.

Sally was standing half behind Ianto, holding onto his arm. "It's dead, right? Stone can be killed after all." She turned around and then noticed that Colonel Mitchell was still on the ground.

"Is he going to be alright?", she asked kneeling down beside John.

Cam chose that moment to open his eyes and start coughing.

Sally smiled, taking that as a good sign.

"Did it work?", Cam then asked.

"Looks that way", John answered while getting up and holding his hand out to Cam.

Once Cam was on his feet John picked up the rocket launcher. "I'll take that now."

"Fine by me", Cam stated. One close call a day was more than enough. He had been standing way too close to the angel, but what was he supposed to do? Ask it to step back? Or step around it and risk that they all blinked at the same time and the damn alien got one of them? Not a chance!

"One down", John stated as thy made their way through the debris, careful not to step on the angel parts. Who knew what might happen then.

"There are three more", Sally said.

"Great", Rodney muttered. "I knew I should have stayed in Atlantis."

"Atlantis?", Ianto asked.

Cam glared at Rodney and then turned to Ianto. "Classified", he stated with an apologetic shrug.

"Right", Ianto said and frowned. Usually he would have tried to get some information from Jack, who seemed to know almost anything that was classified on earth. But things were different now. He had wanted a relationship. Jack seemed to be fine with a casual affair. When Torchwood 1 contacted him and offered him a job Ianto decided that it was time to get out. Maybe Jack would have wanted more some day, but Ianto thought that it was more likely that he got his heart broken. It had still been hard to leave though. He missed Jack. But he was working on moving on.

John tried to ignore Stanton's mutterings about destroying the building. What was the guy's problem? They had more important things to worry about.

The lights flickered again. Sally turned on her flashlight and shone it ahead, past Colonel Sheppard, who was walking in the front now, with the rocket launcher. The thing was huge and probably heavy. Sally was definitely glad she didn't have to carry the thing.

"Oh no", Rodney muttered, as the flashlights started to flicker just like the corridor lights.

"Crap", Cam added as he tapped his p-90. That light was flickering, too.

"They must be close", Sally said.

"Over here", Cam called as he fired his machine gun. The lights were flickering and the damn angel came closer whenever the light was out for a second.

"Get down!", John bellowed as he swung around and aimed.

Ianto quickly knocked Stanton and Rodney down. Sally and Lois dropped to the ground next to them.

Cam threw himself out of the way while still firing the p-90. The rocket rushed by him and hit its target several feet away. There was another small explosion. Stone and debris shattered to the floor. A big hole could be seen in the left wall. Stanton stared at it looking rather pale.

Then he turned to John and Cam. "Could we not take down the whole building while we're on the 8th floor?"

John looked at him and then glanced at Cam. "I think he's right." He really wasn't in the mood to be in another collapsing building. It hadn't been fun the last time.

Half an hour later they had taken out another angel. But they didn't find the last one. Torchwood had mobilized by then and a lot of teams were searching the building, but the angel was gone.

They were back in the conference room now.

Sally stood at the window and looked out. One angel got away. It was somewhere out there.

"We'll find it", Ianto said and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Sally turned to him and sighed slightly. Yeah, right. As if she would be allowed to help find it. She was an intern and just like in any other firm interns did the boring work.

Mr. Stanton confirmed her thoughts as he ordered her to get back to work and deal with the paperwork this mess had caused. Great! Sometimes she thought that it had been more fun to work in the DVD store with Larry.

Sally sighed and walked towards the door. Before she could leave Cam grabbed her arm and held her back.

"If you want a new job, call this number", he said and gave her his card. The Stargate program needed new people. He was sure they'd find a place for someone like her. She seemed to be intelligent and kept cool in a crisis situation. What more could they want?

"Really?", Sally asked. Then she briefly glanced at Stanton, who was busy talking on his radio. He probably wouldn't even notice if she quit. The only time he did seem to notice her was when she mentioned the doctor. And it wasn't like she really knew the doctor.

"Really", John said stepping next to Cam.

"And while we're already at it", Cam continued and handed Lois and Ianto cards as well. It might not be nice to try and 'steal' members of their new cooperation partner. But they were just offering alternatives, right?

Lois looked at the card and then smiled at them. She liked working for Torchwood, but this was an offer to work in Atlantis! She could really see the city for herself!

"I'll think about it", she said.

"What kind of job would that be?", Ianto asked silently. Stanton was still busy talking over the radio, but he preferred to keep this quiet anyway.

"We're working for the Stargate program…"

"Oh", Ianto muttered, not looking too happy. "Captain Jack Harkness works there now, doesn't he?"

"Yes. You know him?", Cam asked.

Ianto just nodded. Then he pulled himself together. "I used to work for Torchwood 3 in Cardiff with Jack."

"Interesting guy", Cam said. He had met Jack in the cafeteria. Man, the guy knew stories. "Definitely knows how to entertain a crowd."

"Too flirty for my liking", John added with a slight grimace. He guessed he'd be flattered if he was a woman, but as it was, he really wasn't into men.

Ianto chuckled slightly, but looked rather sad as well.

"I'm not really looking for a new job right now. But I might get back to you some day."

"Sure, keep the card", Cam told him.

----- ---- ---- ---- ----

**Day 8: London:**

"Mac?", a voice called as she walked into the living room. She turned around and saw Harm coming out of the kitchen.

A big grin appeared on Harms face as he saw her. She really was back. He had missed her a lot the past few days.

Mac returned his smile and then hurried over to hug her husband. It had been hard to be away from him. They hadn't been separated for even a day since they got married.

Harm wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even closer.

"I missed you", he admitted.

"I missed you, too", Mac said snuggling closer.

They stood like that for a while. Then Mac glanced up at him.

"I got the job and I really want it. I've been thinking about it a lot and…"

"I know", Harm said, interrupting her. "You want the job and you deserve it. I already typed my letter of resignation."

"You did?"

Harm smirked slightly. He wasn't too thrilled to quit his job, but he was looking forward to going back to the US and he definitely wanted Mac to be happy. She was the most important thing in his life and she had given up everything so he could pursue his career. Now he would do the same for her.

"Can't wait to stand in court without a wig again."

Mac had to laugh at that. Then she pulled him down to her and kissed him.

"Mhhm, I missed that, too", Harm muttered between kisses.

"Me, too. Make sure you get to San Francisco soon", Mac told him after pulling away slightly.

"Will do. But for now… How about we spend some time in our bedroom before it's packed up."

"I came here to help you pack", Mac stated, but let herself get pulled towards the bedroom.

"That can wait. I can't."

Mac chuckled and followed Harm. She'd rather not pack right now either.

----- ---- ---- ---- ----

**Day 8: Atlantis infirmary:**

Sora paced around the room she had been given. She was feeling fine, so there was no need for her to stay in the infirmary any longer. But honestly, was it better to return to her cell? Well, as long as it was wraith-free… She really had thought the people from Atlantis wanted to kill her when the Wraith suddenly appeared in her cell. But they claimed that that wasn't the case. A device from the ancestors supposedly malfunctioned and made her travel through time. She still wasn't sure if she should believe that.

Teyla came to visit her a few minutes ago, but she sent her away. She might have realized that killing Teyla wouldn't bring her father back, but she still wasn't willing to just pick up their friendship again. Besides, why should she? She was still a prisoner. Guards were outside her door.

A few minutes later Major Teldy and Sergeant Mehra came to bring her back to a cell. Her supposed time travel hadn't changed anything.

----- ---- ---- ---- ----

**Day 8: ****Atlantis cafeteria:**

"Here, try this", Major Lorne said and placed a small bowl on Fred's tray.

"What is it?", she asked.

"Leftovers from the Pegasus galaxy", he answered with a grin. "The animals look a bit like chickens, but they taste completely different. I bet you've never tasted anything like it." Of course he had no idea what people ate in her reality, but it couldn't be that different from this one, could it?

Fred smiled at him. She really enjoyed his company and he made her feel safe. The whole 'falling through another portal' situation would probably freak her out if it wasn't for Major Evan Lorne. He came to visit her whenever he found time. He told her as much as he was allowed to about this place and the events in this world. And he believed her that she came from another dimension or reality, which was most important to her. She had to go to a psych evaluation! People thought she was crazy because she claimed to have seen actual vampires and demons. She so wasn't crazy!

Once their trays were full they went to a table on the balcony and sat down.

Fred glanced down at the city.

"It's amazing", she said.

"I know. I've been here for over four years now and I still catch myself stopping to stare at it."

Fred turned to him and grinned. She liked his honesty, too.

"So, what's it like out there?", she asked pointing at the sky before taking a bite of the meat balls he had placed on her tray.

Her eyes then widened. "Wow."

"I told you, you never ate anything like it", Lorne said chuckling slightly. "I'll definitely miss those now that we're back on earth." Then he glanced up at the sky.

"It's amazing and scary, sometimes terrifying and deadly, but mostly amazing."

Fred grinned. She knew what he was talking about. The life she led back home was a bit like that, too. Knowing about the supernatural world could be scary, terrifying and deadly, but it was also wonderful and amazing.

"I wish I could see it", she said.

Lorne looked at her. She really seemed serious, even after he told her it was dangerous.

"Maybe you can. We're still looking for team members and as long as you're stuck here you could try and join one."

"Really? You think they'd let me?"

"I don't know. I could talk to General O'Neill and Colonel Carter for you."

Fred smiled widely at him and Lorne couldn't help but return the smile.

"Your psych evaluation was good…"

"I'm glad you all no longer think I'm crazy", Fred said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, but people who believe in demons and vampires usually are crazy around here."

Fred smirked slightly. "I guess they would have to be, if you really don't have demons and vamps here." She wasn't entirely sure that that was the truth though. A lot of people back home didn't believe in the supernatural either. Some of them even lived on top of a hellmouth! Just because the majority of a world didn't believe in something didn't make it not exist. This world could be just like hers. It even could have been hers, if she hadn't tried to call Angel, Wesley and Gunn and didn't manage to reach any of them. Wolfram and Hart didn't exist. She had searched the internet, but there was no trace of it. She didn't find Angel investigations either. This really had to be an alternate reality.

"Anyway, you are a scientist, right?"

"Yes."

"It's always good to have a scientist on the team."

Fred grinned. "I'm good with a crossbow, too."

Lorne chuckled. "A crossbow?"

"Yes. Vampires need to be staked with wood. You can shoot wooden stakes from a distance with a crossbow. It's safer than getting up close with them."

Lorne stared at her. It was really strange to hear someone talk about vampires like that. But he guessed a lot of people on this planet would think the same if he talked about aliens and how to kill them safely.

"We don't really use crossbows here. I could show you how to shoot a gun though."

Fred smiled. She had shot a gun before. She wasn't that good at it, but she could manage. But she wasn't going to tell him that. She liked the thought of spending more time with him.

"Sounds good. I have nothing else planned all day or tomorrow, or the day after that."

Lorne laughed and smiled. He definitely wouldn't mind spending every day with her. There was just something about her.

----- ---- ---- ---- ----

**Day 8: Atlantis – Rose's room:**

"Really, he did that?", Rose asked, torn between laughing and feeling disgusted. "Well, I'm not surprised. He liked licking stuff", she added. "And by stuff I mean strange and disgusting things."

Martha nodded. She had spent the morning with Rose and they had started to tell eachother about their adventures with the doctor. She was really enjoying herself. If someone told her a year ago that she would enjoy spending time with Rose Tyler she would have thought the person was crazy. But now she was simply glad that they got along so well.

Rose got up from the bed on which she had been sitting and looked out of the window towards the sky.

"Do you really think he's coming?" Martha said she called the doctor. But so far he still hadn't shown up. She enjoyed spending time with Martha, but the person she really wanted to be with right now was the doctor.

"Of course he will."

Rose stepped back to the bed and sat down.

"But what if he moved on and doesn't want me travel with him anymore?", she asked silently, voicing her biggest fears.

Martha stared at Rose surprised. Didn't she know how much she meant to the doctor? Obviously not. Rose really wasn't like she always believed her to be. She was just another young woman, not so different from herself.

"You're crazy if you actually think that. He'll definitely want you to join him again!"

A knock then sounded on the door. For a moment Rose hoped that it was the doctor. But that was silly. She would have felt it if the TARDIS landed.

"Come in", Martha called and Mickey strode into the room.

"I did it. I signed up to join an off-world team", he announced proudly.

"What?", Rose asked surprised. "But the doctor is coming. He'll be here any minute", Rose insisted almost desperately. They wouldn't stay here. Yes, Atlantis was amazing and beautiful, but nothing against the TARDIS.

Mickey sat down next to Rose on the bed.

"Of course he will. And when he does you'll be off with him again."

"You'll come, too."

Mickey grimaced slightly. "Oh come on, Rose, we've tried that before. I'm not good at playing third wheel. You'll go with the doctor and I'm going to stay and join the Stargate program. I'll do what I'm good at, help protect the earth. And I'll actually get to see other planets, too."

Rose sighed and looked down. Mickey seemed sure about staying.

"Be careful out there", she said.

"Of course I will", he said and put his arm around Rose, pulling her close. Then he glanced at Martha.

"Maybe we'll be on the same team. Two former companions exploring the galaxy", he said and grinned.

"Three", Jack said entering the room. "I've just informed the General that I wouldn't mind having you on my team."

Mickey looked at Jack. "Oh no, really? I don't think I can live with the constant sexual harassment", he said jokingly.

Rose glared at him, grabbed a pillow and smacked him on the head.

"Ah, pillow fight", Jack exclaimed. "Haven't had one of those in over a century, I believe." He hurried towards the bed, grabbed a pillow and started throwing it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Day 8 - Atlantis infirmary:**

Cam grimaced as Dr. Lam put some disinfectant on the cut on his cheek.

"Sorry", Carolyn said. Then she grabbed a small patch and put it over the wound.

"As good as new", she said before excusing herself to check on another patient.

Cam got up and was about to leave the infirmary when Sheila appeared infront of him.

"I heard you were being treated. Are you alright?", she asked, feeling concerned. Cameron was the person she knew best and she really liked him. If anything happened to him she was sure she'd feel even more lost in this time. Of course she got to know other people by now. She had talked to General O'Neill, Colonel Carter and Dr. Jackson a lot. They were all very interested in her life and anything concerning her people. They were very nice and helpful, but she hadn't really connected with them on a personal level so far, not like with Cam.

Cam smiled when he saw Sheila. He had started to enjoy her company more and more.

"I'm fine, it's just a little scratch", he said and gestured at his patched up face. "Nothing to worry about."

Sheila felt relieved to hear that.

"You weren't worried about me, were you?", he then asked and smirked.

Sheila looked at him and had to smile. "Maybe a little." She held her fingers up and showed him how little.

Cam chuckled.

"How's Sharon doing?", he then asked.

"No change", Sheila answered with a sigh. She was really worried about her sister. It actually was all she did the whole day, worrying.

"Cam, I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?", he asked.

"You told me that your people have teams to explore other planets." He nodded. "Do you think it would be possible for me to join one?"

Cam looked at her a little surprised. She barely left the infirmary so far and now she wanted to leave the planet?

"You need team members, right?" She actually would have preferred to work on a ship, but she couldn't leave Sharon behind and she wasn't familiar with earth's ships anyway.

"Yes, we do. But why do you want to join a team?"

"I need something to do. I'm going crazy sitting at Sharon's bedside the whole day. And while I'm in Atlantis I won't do much else. But if I join a team I'll do something useful and might be able to help your people."

Cam smiled. She really wanted to help them. She had felt bad when she couldn't tell them where to find more ZPM's. She wasn't a scientist, so she couldn't help them much when it came to ancient technology. She had the gene and knew the city, but that was basically it. They had all hoped to gain some valuable information when they found out that an ancient was in the city. But that wasn't really the case. Maybe Sheila felt their slight disappointment? Or she just generally was a nice person who wanted to help others. Either way, Cam really liked her.

"I'm sure we can arrange something. I'll go talk to General O'Neill right away. You want to come along?"

"Sure, let's go."

----- -----

John walked into the infirmary. Elizabeth would be released soon and he wanted to escort her to her room by himself. He was still feeling a little guilty for using her lack of memory to be close to her, but he pushed those thoughts as far away as possible.

Once in the infirmary John stopped. Cameron Mitchell was walking towards him with a pretty blonde. His eyes widened when he saw her up close and his mouth almost dropped open.

"John?", Cam asked looking a little confused. John was staring at Sheila in a very strange way.

"I know you", John muttered looking at the woman.

Sheila felt a little uneasy as the man stared at her. "You do?", she asked.

"John, this is Sheila Trebal. She is the lantean that was brought here by the ancient device", Cam said.

"Right", John said tearing his eyes away from Sheila and looking at Cam instead. He knew that they had an ancient in the city, or better two of them. He had even seen her before, but only from a distance and he hadn't recognized her before.

Turning back to Sheila John then smiled. "Sorry, didn't mean to stare. It's just… I've seen you before. You were on the Aurora when we found the ship a few years ago."

Cam and Sheila both looked at him surprised.

"I was?"

John nodded. "The whole crew was in stasis pods and way too old to revive. But you were all hooked up to some virtual reality in which you kind of _lived._ I went into one of the stasis pods and entered that virtual reality. It's where I saw you."

Sheila's eyes widened. She would end up in a stasis pod on board the Aurora? Did that mean she would find a way back home? Or had that been changed?

"Please tell me more about what happened", she said.

John nodded. He had a bit of time left before Elizabeth would be released.

"Why don't we go to the balcony and talk there", Cam suggested. It was much nicer outside and the infirmary was rather noisy as well.

----- -----

This was really strange. Sheila had no idea what it meant that Colonel Sheppard had seen her on board the Aurora, or better her body and a Wraith impersonating her in a virtual reality. The thought that a Wraith fed on her and then used her to trick her people made her feel sick.

"You probably won't end like that", Cam said after John had left. "You're here now."

Sheila looked at him. It was nice that he tried to cheer her up, but it didn't really work. If she went back home she'd end up as Wraith food and if she stayed here she'd never see her family and friends again.

"Do you still want to go see General O'Neill?", he then asked. She looked a little shaken, which was understandable in her situation. She really hadn't gotten any good news lately.

Sheila nodded. She needed something to distract her.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 8 – Atlantis corridors:**

"This feels familiar", Elizabeth said as John walked her to her room. She glanced around at the city they were in. It looked amazing and strange, but still familiar at the same time. What felt even more familiar however was walking next to John through the hallway. She was sure that they had done the same a lot of times before.

John grinned at her. "That's good. Your memory is definitely getting better."

"It is", she agreed. "I dreamed some things about living in this city. I think it were memories."

"See, it's all coming back, just like Daniel and the doctors said."

Elizabeth smiled slightly. Now that she started to remember the world felt a lot less scary.

"It's that room, right?" She didn't exactly remember, but had a feeling that this was her room.

John nodded and opened the door. There were still boxes with her belongings in there. They had cleared out her office, but just couldn't bring themselves to clear the room as well. What should they do with her belongings anyway? And they had enough rooms in Atlantis, so they didn't need this one.

Elizabeth went over to her desk. A box with some of her things was standing on it. She ran her fingers over them.

"How long has it been since I … _left_?"

John watched her and then sighed. Too long.

"About two years", he answered. Two very long years. Well, he had seen her again later but it wasn't really her. It hadn't been her body and she didn't act like herself either. Not until the last minute, when she was willing to die to make sure that Atlantis was safe. The replicator version of her didn't really count either.

Elizabeth turned around and looked at him. It must have been hard for all of them and especially for him, if what she had been dreaming about was true.

"Thank you for being there for me and making me feel welcome after all this time."

John smirked. As if he could have not done that. Well, he shouldn't, he thought as the guilt came back. But he wasn't strong enough to stay away from her.

"You're very welcome", he said with a cheeky smile.

Elizabeth retuned the smile and then started to wonder if her dream really was true. She had kissed him. It wasn't a long dream, or she didn't remember more of it. It was just the kiss and then she woke up, feeling happy and content. There was more between them than just friendship, right? She felt like there was more.

"Do you want me to help you unpack?", he asked.

"If you don't mind", she said. Any excuse to spend more time with him was welcome. She liked his company a lot and she had to find out if her dream was true. But if there was more between them why didn't he tell her? Was he trying to wait until her memories came back so he wouldn't scare her? Somehow that seemed like something John Sheppard would do. He was always concerned about others, always tried to keep people safe and always risked his life in heroic ways. Elizabeth frowned as those thoughts triggered memories. It was like pictures or short videoclips of past events came rushing at her.

Elizabeth swayed slightly, feeling overwhelmed by all the memories. She saw John lying on the ground as Carson Beckett tried to revive him. Then he came towards her and someone who was holding her hostage. The man wanted to take her through the Stargate, but John shot him and saved her. Then he talked to her, telling her that he had to do something and that she knew it. The scenery changed and she watched his jumper leave on a screen. He was flying off on a suicide mission to save the city and everyone in it.

When he saw her sway John stepped towards Elizabeth and quickly steadied her.

"You okay?", he asked feeling concerned.

Elizabeth blinked. Then her eyes focused on John and the memories stopped coming at her. He was standing right infront of her, holding her arms to steady her. He was so close that she could smell his scent. Even that was familiar. She remembered how he smelled! How could there not be more between them than friendship?

"Elizabeth?"

His voice brought her back to the presence. "Yes. I'm fine. I just remembered… You were willing to die to save us", she stated, starting to feel a little odd. What if he really had died? She let him go and he would have died if the Daedalus hadn't shown up at exactly the right moment.

John was a little surprised about her words.

"Yeah, well… I guess we were out of other options", he stated with a shrug.

Elizabeth stared at him. He said that as if it was nothing.

"Could you try not to do that again?", she asked. She didn't even want to think about losing him. She couldn't remember everything of their lives together, but she knew that the very thought of him dying made her feel sick, lost and scared.

"I'll certainly try", John answered. He wasn't entirely sure what Elizabeth had remembered, but he knew he wasn't fond of the idea of sacrificing himself. He thought he had to do it way too many times already and he didn't want to have to do it ever again!

Elizabeth watched emotions run over his face, but couldn't read them. Her eyes then lingered on his face, his eyes, his lips. She couldn't manage to look away. He was still standing so close and the images from her dream about kissing him came back to her.

Without even realizing what she was doing Elizabeth closed the distance between them and kissed him.

John was surprised and a little shocked when she suddenly leaned in and kissed him. He really hadn't expected that. But it didn't take long and instinct took over. He kissed her back, tasting her soft lips. He had thought about this a lot of times, especially after they had been taken over by Phoebus and Thalan. It hadn't really been them kissing, but John remembered it and he had really enjoyed it. That however was nothing against the way this kiss felt. This was really her. His hands pulled her closer instinctively and held onto her as he deepened the kiss.

Elizabeth pressed herself against him before breaking the kiss to get some air. She was actually feeling a little dizzy and her body seemed to tingle all over as she stood close to him, breathing heavily. This definitely had to be the best kiss she ever got. Not that she remembered being kissed by anyone else.

A smile appeared on her lips as Elizabeth looked up at him.

John couldn't believe what just happened. She had kissed him and what a kiss that had been! His body had started to react in ways it really shouldn't. And what was he doing anyway? He couldn't kiss Elizabeth! It was just wrong. It basically was his fault that she died! Just because he had always had a thing for her and she now actually seemed to be interested in him as well didn't mean that he could do this. It was wrong to use he like that. She still couldn't remember everything. She was vulnerable and not really herself.

The smile that had crept on his face vanished and he stepped back.

The happiness Elizabeth was feeling started to fade when John stopped smiling and stepped away from her. That couldn't be good.

John ran his hand through his hair nervously, trying to gather his thoughts.

"John, what is it?", Elizabeth asked.

His eyes snapped to her when she spoke. He frowned, really not liking this. He hated situations like this and had to fight the urge to just run off. If it wasn't for his guilt he might have actually left. But he already hurt her more than enough. She deserved better than him running away.

"We can't do this", he finally said.

"Why?", Elizabeth wanted to know, feeling confused. He had kissed her back and she was sure that he enjoyed it.

"You're not yourself. You don't remember…" She had no idea what he did to her and once she remembered she'd be furious, hurt and surely feel betrayed.

"I remember enough", Elizabeth protested.

"No, you don't!"

Elizabeth stared at him. What did he mean by that? What didn't she remember? Had they broken up? Did something happen?

"Then tell me, John!"

John sighed, feeling resigned.

"I… I can't." He just couldn't tell her what he did. He could barely manage to think about his failure in saving and protecting her. How should he talk about it?

Elizabeth's eyes were fixed on him. Something bad had happened. She could see it on his face, in his eyes. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, and tell him that it would all be okay while holding him. But if she was at least part of the reason why he was feeling bad that probably wasn't a good idea.

John still felt like running, especially as he felt her eyes on him. Then he suddenly heard Rodney's voice over his radio.

"_John, where the hell are you? The meeting is about to start!"_

Crap, he had totally forgotten about that. Colonel Carter had scheduled a meeting about their new enemy. He had to be there.

"I'll be right there", he answered tapping his radio. This actually was a good way to leave.

"Elizabeth, I need to go. I totally forgot about this meeting and Rodney just reminded me."

Elizabeth sighed, but nodded. They would have to finish this talk another time. Maybe she would even remember what upset him so much by then.

John saw her nod and turned around. He had no idea what to say, so he left silently.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 8 – Atlantis**** class room:**

John hurried into the room and quickly went over to Teyla, Rodney, Ronon and Amelia. Sitting down next to Teyla he tried to focus on Colonel Carter, who started to talk to them, and push away the thoughts about Elizabeth. But it wasn't easy. Her kiss had thrown him completely off-guard.

"They look awfully familiar", Ronon muttered.

"We've seen those ships before", Rodney added loud enough for the whole room to hear him.

John finally snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the pictures on the screen in the front of the room. Yes, they had seen those ships before. He remembered it well.

Sam turned to Rodney and looked at him surprised.

"You have?", she asked. If they had come across this enemy before why was nothing in Atlantis database? They had compared the pictures Jonas brought them to all their files.

"Yes, we did", John answered. "When that Daedalus took us to several alternate realities we encountered them in one. They attacked Atlantis and we helped fight them off."

Hearing that, Sam remembered the incident. She had read a file about it, but never saw any pictures. Well, they probably didn't take any.

"That's good", she said. Now they had even more information about who they were up against.

"No, it's not", Ronon stated, remembering his fight with one of them. They were really hard to kill.

"They were strong", John added as an explanation. "Pretty hard to kill."

"They might have been part machine", Ronon added. It just didn't really feel like he was fighting a human or even wraith.

Great, Sam thought. Why couldn't they for once be up against an enemy that was easy to kill?

"I want you to write down everything you remember about these aliens. Then we'll add it to the file and send a copy of it to everyone."

John nodded. "Will do."

"Alright, back to the ships." Sam showed them some more images and told them everything they knew so far.

"Any questions?", she asked when she was finished. Noone said anything.

"Okay, that's it for today. All team leaders please come with me. We're discussing team assignments now. The teams will be announced later today or tomorrow morning. First missions will be tomorrow."

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 8 – Atlantis:**

"How about something to eat?", Rachel suggested as she, Jason and Stephen left the meeting.

"Sure", Stephen answered. He was pretty hungry himself.

Jason nodded and followed the two to the closest transporter. Within a few minutes they entered the cafeteria and went over to the buffet.

"So, how was it at the Arc?", Rachel asked as she got herself some food. The two of them had been away for most of the day and Rachel had felt a little lost without them. Everything was still so new and it was easier if you weren't the only one that was new. Well, there were other new people, but Rachel didn't really know them so far.

"It was a little strange to be back", Jason admitted while filling his own tray.

Rachel glanced at him. "You don't wish you still worked there, do you?"

Jason shrugged. He really wasn't sure. He missed the Arc and the people he worked with. But he was really excited about being in Atlantis as well. And he definitely liked the people he worked with now.

"I'm not going back, especially not before I've been out there." He gestured upwards.

Stephen chuckled. Yes, going out to other planets really was something. He couldn't wait.

Once their trays were full the three of them went to a table.

"How was it for you to go back?", Rachel then asked looking at Stephen. Everyone he knew thought he was dead. That had to be strange. Rachel couldn't help but wonder how it would be if she ever got home, to her own reality. Her friends and family thought she was dead, too. How would they react to seeing her again? Well, there was no reason to wonder about it. She could never go home. The Ellimist bended the rules when he saved her. Who knew what would happen if Crayak ever found out.

"Definitely strange", Stephen answered. "Before I got here I wasn't really sure who to trust anymore at the Arc and who really were my friends. I'm pretty sure that I know now. And it was nice to see they missed me."

That definitely must be nice, Rachel thought. She would love to know if her friends actually missed her. Things hadn't always been easy and Rachel often felt like the other Animorphs thought she was crazy. Did they actually miss her when she 'died' or were they relieved to be rid of her? Rachel sighed. Maybe it was better that she didn't know.

Rachel was pulled out of her thoughts when someone came to their table.

"Mind if I sit with you?", Laura Cadman asked. She thought it would be a good idea to get to know the new people better. And besides that, her alternative was to go sit with Rodney and his girlfriend. The two were making eyes at eachother and holding hands. Somehow she really didn't like the sight.

"Of course not", Jason said and made room for her.

"You're Lt. Cadman, right?", Rachel asked, remembering her from their first day.

"Yes, Lt. Laura Cadman."

"Do you have any idea about the teams or our missions tomorrow?", Stephen asked curiously.

Laura shook her head. "No, I don't think anyone knows yet. I'm as curious as you are."

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 8 - Atlantis conference room:**

The team leaders just left the room after telling them their requests and thoughts. Jack and Sam were alone now and it was up to them to make the decisions.

After getting them something to drink Sam sat down next to Jack. All team members' files were on the table infront of them.

"I think we really need to split up the old teams", Sam stated. They had mentioned the possibility to the team leaders and they really weren't happy about it. But sending a bunch of new people off-world on their own really wasn't a good idea. Of course they hadn't known what was out there when they stepped through the Stargate the first time, but that was different. They did have experienced personnel now.

"At least temporarily", Sam added.

Jack nodded. He knew Sam was right, even though he could understand Mitchell and the others protests. He wouldn't have wanted to mix up SG-1 either, while he was still its leader.

But he wasn't a team leader anymore and he had to keep everyone's safety in mind. Besides that it would mean, that he could place someone he really trusted on Mac's team. He did feel rather protective about her.

"Okay, we'll split them up temporarily", he agreed. Then he placed the team leaders files, which had photos of them pinned on the front, next to eachother.

"At least placing the russians and chinese is easy", Jack said jokingly. He had promised them each a whole team.

Sam smirked. "Let's check the requests fist. The more people we can make happy the better", she then suggested.

Jack nodded and placed the request list infront of them. Captain Harkness requested two team members and they were all new. But they said they had travelled to other planets before, so they should be fine with just one experienced Stargate member.

Together they went through the requests, talked about possible teams and after what felt like hours finally came to a decision.

Sam wrote the team announcements down while Jack put away the files.

"We really need more people. Ten teams just aren't enough", he then said. They had a lot more teams at the SGC and several in Atlantis. Too many good people had died in that attack.

Sam got up and stepped towards him. "I know. We'll find more people. We'll hold another test next week and find people to invite in the meantime", she said, trying to reassure him. But she knew deep down that Jack wanted the old teams back. It was the loss of their friends and colleagues, more than anything else, that made them feel down.

She sighed and then grabbed the announcement list. "I'll just hang this up. Then we can call it a day."

"Finally", Jack exclaimed and grinned at her.

"My room or yours?", he asked with a mischievous smirk.

Sam chuckled. "How about some dinner first and then _you_ can pick the room." She knew they had to be careful and discreet about their relationship, but she was glad that he hadn't decided to break up with her because they worked together again. Sneaking around and hiding was better than pretending to be just friends.

"Fine, let's go."

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That's it for now. I hope you liked the chapter.

I made some fanart and videclips for this fanfic, but won't let me post links. So, if you want to see any of it, check out my livejournal: sarah_jones. ;-)


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry, that it took me so long to update.I had several exams, then went on 2 short vacations and got sick after that. :-( Now I finally found time to write again. I hope you like this chapter.

**--------------------------------------------------------------**

**Day 8 – Atlantis cafeteria:**

„It's definitely good to have you back", John said as he and Ford sat down at a table in the cafeteria.

"Feels like I never left", Ford answered jokingly.

John glanced at his former team member. For him it actually was that way. He never left Atlantis. But for John it was a whole different story. He had lost Ford. He had been one more person he didn't mange to save. Apart from that John really missed Ford. Of course he had moved on and found a new team member and friend in Ronon. But Ford was part of the original team and the first person he really connected with when he joined the Atlantis expedition. It was really hard for him not to have Ford around anymore.

"I kind of missed you", he admitted and then busied himself with eating his sandwich.

Ford looked at John and smiled slightly. It was nice to hear that. He then took a bite of his own sandwich, which John had placed on his tray.

"Still enjoying turkey sandwich, I see", he stated.

John grinned. "Definitely. But I still haven't managed to teach the jumpers to produce one."

Ford chuckled, remembering their flight in the jumper.

"So, what did I miss?", Ford then asked. He had heard a few things already and had started to read mission reports to catch up, but he missed four years. A lot happened in four years.

John looked up from his plate. Where should he start? So much happened in the past years.

"Well, we definitely kicked some Wraith and Replicator ass", he started and then told Ford a few stories.

"Wow, you just left the planet with the whole city", Ford stated as John told him about the war with the replicators.

"Yep, had to leave Atlantica."

Ford stared at John. "Atlantica?"

"Yeah, we named the planet after you were… you know, gone."

"Really?", Ford asked grinning.

"No", John stated and took a bite of his second sandwich. He almost choked on it when he saw Fords look. But it definitely was worth it. The guy looked like a kid whose toy had been stolen.

"I'd let you name this planet", he said after swallowing. "But it already has a name." He shrugged and tried to look apologetic.

"Very funny, Major", Ford said out of habit. "Er, Lt. Colonel, I mean. Congrats on the promotion by the way."

John grinned and then started to tell Ford how everyone used to tell him that he wouldn't make it past Captain.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 9 – Gate room:**

Rachel checked her weapon and then walked to her team. She was assigned to Colonel Sheppard. Stephen and Jason were on her team as well. She definitely couldn't complain. They were SG-3. SG-1 and 2 were waiting as well. They'd leave first, then her team and afterwards the rest of the teams would follow a bit later.

Looking at the huge Stargate Rachel grinned. This was it. She was leaving the planet again. She hadn't been too fond of leaving earth the few times she did it before, but now she could hardly wait.

"Excited?", John asked his new temporary team members. He hadn't been thrilled that he had to go off-world without all three of his usual team members, but on the other hand he would be able to look after these three. He kind of liked them and he'd make sure they survived their first mission.

Rachel looked at Colonel Sheppard and just grinned. She really was in a good mood today, which rarely was the case since she came to this reality. She enjoyed it.

The Stargate started to rotate and the chevrons locked into place. Then the wormhole established. Some of the new people took a step back. Rachel just grinned.

"Good luck SG-1", General O'Neill called and the team left.

About 10 minutes later SG-2 was gone as well. Now it was their turn. The wormhole established a third time.

Before stepping through the gate John glanced back out of habit. There she stood, in her usual spot. Elizabeth Weir definitely was back. She nodded at him the same way she always did. He had long ago interpreted it as a 'be safe' nod. It felt good to see her do it again. But seeing her also reminded him of the past day and their kiss. He really didn't want to think about that now. He had a job to do, which was to make sure his new team members got back alive and in one piece.

With a short wave in Elizabeth's direction he then walked through the gate.

Rachel looked at the event horizon. Next to her Stephen briefly touched it. Then he stepped through. Rachel and Jason glanced at eachother, then followed.

Elizabeth Weir watched John's team leave. Before he went John had waved at her. He had done so before, she remembered it. Her memories really did seem to be triggered by familiar things. Hopefully that meant she would soon get them all back. She needed to know what happened between her and John.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 9 – SG-1****'s mission:**

Cam stepped away from the Stargate and looked down. The gate was on a cliff.

Vala, who was standing next to him, looked down. Then she glanced around. There were a lot of mountains, trees and birds. Nothing indicated any advanced civilisations. But who knew what was behind the trees or mountains?

She put down her backpack and pulled out a small detector, which would tell her if there were any energy readings. She wasn't going to climb any mountains if there was nothing interesting there.

"Anything?", Daniel asked.

Vala looked at the small device and frowned. Of course it had to pick something up.

"It's picking up some low energy readings. It's probably nothing interesting though. It has nowhere near enough power to be a ZPM."

"Since we're already here let's check it out", Cam said.

Vala sighed. Of course they would check it out. And the energy was coming from the direction of a huge mountain.

"We should have brought a jumper, now that we have someone on the team who can fly it", she stated and glanced at Sheila.

"Walking won't kill you", Cam said and winked at her before starting to walk ahead. "Come on, kids."

Sheila chuckled slightly at Cams words and followed him. She was glad that she had been put on Cam's team. She really liked him.

About 40 minutes later they made a small break at a lake. Sheila sat down on a rock near the lake and looked at it. The planet definitely was beautiful.

Cam watched as Sheila sat down and soon pulled out her water bottle and drank from it. She looked peaceful. It really had been a good idea for her to join a team. As long as she stayed in Atlantis she'd do nothing but worry. Now she had something to distract her from her situation for a while. He was also glad that she was on his team. Of course he had been against splitting up SG-1 and still wasn't happy about it. He missed Teal'c already and still missed Sam. But he understood why the teams had to be mixed up and he felt like he had been really lucky. He still had Daniel and Vala and would be able to keep an eye on Sheila. What more could he want? Besides, he'd have Teal'c back on his team soon enough.

"The energy readings have increased", Vala said suddenly. "Maybe this hiking wasn't all for nothing after all", she added with a grin.

"Told you so", Cam said. Then he drank something as well before getting ready to continue the search.

About an hour later they finally reached the top of a small mountain.

"We're so taking a jumper next time", Vala stated. Then she stopped, as she saw the village in the valley infront of them.

"It's Goa'uld", Daniel stated. They hadn't come across any Goa'uld villages in a while.

"I thought you defeated the Goa'uld?", Sheila asked.

"We did", Cam said.

"The System Lords are all dead by now. But there probably still are some minor Goa'uld around. This could be one of them."

"Or the humans here just like to play with Goa'uld stuff", Vala added. Through her binoculars she could see people carrying staff weapons, but she couldn't tell if they were human or Jaffa.

"Let's check it out", Vala added. If there were any Goa'uld still alive they needed to be stopped. She knew what it was like to be a host to a Goa'uld and didn't wish it on anyone.

"Maybe we should go back for reinforcements", Sheila suggested. There were a lot of people in that village and they were only 4.

"And have others laugh at us if these are only humans or free Jaffa?", Vala answered. "I think not. Besides, we're SG-1. We can handle it. Right?", she added and glanced at Daniel and Cam with a grin.

Daniel rolled his eyes.

Cam looked a little sceptical, but then shrugged. "Right", he answered. "Let's get close enough so we can see if there are any Goa'uld involved."

Vala grinned and went ahead. The others followed.

A few feet away from the village they hid behind trees. By now Vala was glad about all the trees. Peering out from behind one she held the binoculars to her eyes again.

"Definitely Jaffa", she muttered.

"Who's sign is that?", Cam asked and glanced at Daniel.

Daniel looked through his own binoculars trying to see the sign on the Jaffa's head clearly. But he couldn't really make it out. Most of the Jaffa just simply didn't look his way.

He shrugged. "Can't tell from here."

"You could always ask him", Sheila said while raising her arms.

Cam turned around and frowned. Six zat guns were pointed at them.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 9 – SG-****2's mission:**

Teyla looked at Sam and smirked. She liked Jonas enthusiasm.

"Is he always like this?", she asked.

"Most of the time", Sam answered. It was definitely good to have Jonas back. After all the bad things that had happened it was nice to see that something good came out of it as well, even if it was a small good thing compared to all the losses.

Besides that it was good to have someone on her team who used to be part of SG-1. It wasn't a totally new team that way. She knew Jonas and trusted him. It was also nice to have Teyla on her team. They had become close friends while she was Atlantis leader and Sam had missed her a lot when she came back to earth.

The fourth member of their team was one of the new recruits, a young marine. Sam didn't really know him, but he seemed nice so far and hadn't freaked out during the simulations like a lot of others had.

All things considered Sam was happy with her team. It wasn't SG-1, but she had left SG-1 a while ago anyway. She wouldn't even be part of a team if they didn't need team leaders so badly right now. She would be commanding the Hammond. She had been looking forward to that. But now that she was leading a team again she was glad about it. She had missed going on missions like this.

"I missed this", Jonas said with a grin. "Exploring alien planets, going on missions to help save the universe."

Sam had to laugh at that. It really felt good to laugh again.

"So, you were part of the Atlantis expedition?", Jonas then asked as he fell into step beside Teyla.

"No, not really. I joined the expedition members in Atlantis, but I am not originally from earth", Teyla answered.

Jonas looked at her curiously. "Then you are from the Pegasus Galaxy?"

"Yes, I am Athosian", Teyla said and started to tell Jonas about her home planet and how she met John and the others.

Sam listened to Teyla and Jonas while taking in their surroundings. The planet was nice. The sun was up, but it wasn't too warm. It felt like a spring day. There was a forest ahead of them, but the path lead away from it.

Sam fell back to walk next to Lieutenant Anders. It was time to get to know her final team member a bit better. She was about to ask him how he liked his new job when Teyla suddenly stopped and held her arm up.

"What is it?", Sam asked.

"We're not alone", Teyla stated just as several people rushed out of the forest, armed with knives, swords and axes.

"Fall back to the gate", Sam called. They were greatly outnumbered and the locals didn't look like they were in a friendly mood.

"Maybe we should…"

"No, Jonas, we're not going to try and talk to them", Sam stated just as an ax flew past them, missing Jonas by a few inch.

"Alright, no talking today", Jonas agreed.

Firing warning shots into the direction of their pursuers they ran back towards the Stargate as quickly as possible.

"Jonas, dial the gate. And hurry! Anders, stay with him."

Jonas didn't need to be told twice. He wasn't interested in getting to know these aliens better anymore.

Sam and Teyla stopped running to be able to aim better. The locals fell back a little, but Sam didn't think they would be able to hold them back for long.

Once at the gate Jonas dialled earth and sent his identification code. Then he turned around, looking for Sam and Teyla. Anders was aiming his p-90 and started to shoot at the locals, keeping them away while Teyla and Sam caught up.

"Go, go, go", Sam called and waited next to the gate while her team members went through the gate. Then she followed after firing a few last shots.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 9 – Atlantis:**

"It's SG-2", Chuck informed the General.

Jack frowned. They weren't even gone half an hour. He quickly gave orders to the military personnel on duty in the gate room that they should be ready and take cover. If SG-2 came back so soon they probably were coming in hot.

"Let them through."

Chuck shut down the shield and SG-2 came in, as well as some axes and knifes.

"Making friends?", Jack called as he hurried down the stairs as soon as the gate shut down.

Sam smirked slightly at his words. "You could have chosen a nicer planet to send us to", she stated and then glanced at her team members to make sure everyone was fine.

"The locals were rather hostile. We should not go back there without a jumper", Teyla suggested.

"She's right. We picked up interesting energy readings that are worth checking out. But you should send a team in a cloaked jumper", Sam added.

Jack nodded. They'd do that later. For now he was just glad that Sam was back unharmed.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

**Day 9 – SG-3's mission:**

John waited next to the gate as his new team came through. They all had huge smiles on their faces. He grinned. It was nice to see that they enjoyed themselves.

"Cool", Rachel stated. "We're so doing that again!"

Jason laughed. He definitely liked to see Rachel that happy. She looked even more beautiful that way.

Stephen grinned. Going through the Stargate was definitely one hell of a ride.

"Alright, let's check this planet out", John said after a while. Then he glanced at Rachel. "Any energy readings?"

Rachel stopped looking around and pulled a small detector out of her backpack. Then she glanced at it and shrugged.

"I guess so", she said and held the thing towards Sheppard. It was detecting something. She just didn't really know what. Why had she been given the detector anyway? It wasn't like she was good with technology. That had been Ax's job. She sighed. She really missed her blue alien friend. Did he exist in this reality? Would they maybe one day meet Andalites on a mission?

John glanced at the detector. It definitely showed some kind of energy. But he had no idea what kind either. He missed Rodney already. Well, if they found something interesting they'd just dial back home and request a scientist. If Rodney was still on his mission maybe Zelenka could come.

"Which way?", Stephen asked.

John took the detector and moved around. "That way", he said gesturing to their right. The energy was definitely coming from that direction. He handed the detector back to Berenson and started to walk.

About 10 minutes later John glanced at his 3 team members. They were chatting and laughing. It looked like they were friends already.

The small path they were on turned right just at the edge of a forest. John stopped and waited for the others to catch up.

"A village", Stephen said.

----- -----

Inside the village they were greeted friendly and invited to join the villagers at their Harvest Festival which had already started.

"Nice people", Jason stated as he and the others sat at a table, with food and drinks placed infront of them by the villagers.

"They seem very eager to start trading with us", John stated. "Which is a good thing, seeing as we'd like to have a look at their power source."

"I just don't get why they would have any kind of power source at all. They are farmers. There doesn't seem to be any technology here", Rachel said. She really wouldn't want to live here. She liked civilisation. She knew how it was to live away from it. They had lived in the Hork-Bajir valley for a while. Compared to that, this village actually looked nice.

"There must be some technology on the planet", John stated. They had picked up energy readings after all. "These folks might know where it is. And they might not need or want it, seeing as they are farmers…"

"You hope they will trade whatever it is with us", Jason stated.

John smirked. He then saw an older man coming towards them.

"I am Terin, the leader of these people. Welcome to our village", he said with a smile. "I was told you came to trade. We are always happy to trade."

Rachel watched as the man sat down at their table and started to talk to Colonel Sheppard about what they were looking for. The man really seemed eager to start trading. Well, she couldn't blame him. Anything they might give these people probably would be a huge improvement of their situation.

Glancing around Rachel then noticed that some of the locals were staring at her.

"I think you have some admirers", Jason whispered and then smirked.

Rachel groaned. That was just what she needed. A fan club full of farmers.

"Not into farmers, are we?", Stephen said teasingly.

Rachel frowned. Then two of the men came over to their table.

"Would you like us to show you the village?", one of them asked, looking at Rachel in a hopeful way.

Jason could barely keep from chuckling.

Rachel glared at him and then turned to the young man who spoke to her.

"Sure, why not", she said. She wasn't needed for the trading negotiations and she wasn't in the mood to be teased by her new friends. Checking out the village seemed like a better idea. And it wasn't like she would have to see these guys again. She might never come back to the planet anyway.

Getting up Rachel gave Jason and Stephen a smug smirk and then headed off with the villagers.

"That went well", Stephen muttered as he glanced after Rachel. Somehow he didn't really like to see her with other men. Turning back to Jason he noticed that the guy didn't look that happy either.

"Alright, let's go and check it out", John said with a grin.

"Where is Berenson?" He glanced around, but couldn't see her.

"Some villagers wanted to show her around", Jason answered.

"Alright. Becker, go find her. Then ask someone to take both of you to the old city and meet me there", he added. He was rather curious about the place the village leader hat told him about, and it apparently wasn't far, so he'd go ahead.

"Stephen, you go back to the gate, dial earth and inform the General, that we need at least one scientist to join us. Zelenka would be good. Contact me once he's here and we'll pick you up at the gate."

Stephen got up. Apparently the negotiations had gone well. He probably should have paid more attention to them. But Rachel just had a way of drawing attention to her.

"Understood, sir", Jason said and glanced around. Rachel was nowhere to be seen. He went towards the dance floor first. Maybe she was among the large group of people there.

----- -----

A few minutes later Jason had found Rachel. She was surrounded by a group of men, who all seemed to be awed by her. He rolled his eyes, but had to admit to himself that he could understand their reaction. Rachel was beautiful.

"I hate to interrupt this little gathering, but we have to go, Rachel."

Rachel turned around and smiled when she saw Jason. She was by his side in a matter of seconds.

"Sorry guys, duty calls", she muttered and already started to walk away. It really had been a bad idea to go with the villagers. She just simply wasn't good at socialization. It was actually weird, as she used to be really popular in school and got along with everyone. But it all changed when she became an animorph. Being popular and mingling with others just didn't really seem important anymore.

Jason was just about to ask if one of the guys could take them to the old city when Rachel leaned in closer.

"That was just in time. I was starting to feel a little crowded."

Jason laughed and grinned at her. But then he noticed the look on her face. She really didn't look happy. Maybe he should ask someone else to show them the way, a woman preferably.

----- -----

Stephen was on his way to the gate when he suddenly heard a scream. It came from the forest and it was nearby. Without even thinking he rushed into the woods. It didn't take long until he saw two people. A man was standing over a woman and pulling her blouse open while pressing her against a tree with his body and holding his other hand over her mouth.

"Let her go", Stephen called while stepping closer.

The man turned around, his eyes wide with shock. Then he quickly pushed the woman away and rushed off.

Stephen was torn between rushing after the man and making sure the woman was okay. She was on the ground and didn't move. Maybe she was hurt. Making his decision he went over to her and kneeled down next to her. She was unconscious, probably hit her head when she fell.

He was just checking for a pulse when he suddenly heard movement behind him. Turning around he saw several people approach.

"Take your hands off her", an older man shouted angrily.

Stephen frowned. This so wasn't good. "I didn't touch her. I …"

"Shut up and get away from her", someone else called and pulled out a knife.


	15. Chapter 15

**Day 9 – SG-3's mission:**

Rachel's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. These people's lives weren't just old fashioned. They acted that way, too. And they did it in a very bad way.

Stephen couldn't believe what was happening. He had tried to rescue the woman, but noone was listening to him. They all thought he was the one who attacked her. And they obviously never heard of 'innocent until proven guilty".

"Let go of me," Rachel shouted angrily. When the villagers had come back with Stephen they had taken her and Jason's weapons. Several men were guarding them now. All she could do was watch as the villagers got ready for an execution. A guy with a huge ax appeared. And there was a tree stump, which looked as if it had dried blood on it.

Seeing the man with the ax arrive Jason tried once more to get free. He elbowed one of the men and kicked another. Next to him Rachel followed his example. But they didn't stand a chance. There were just too many of them.

Stephen looked over to Jason and Rachel who tried to get away. But just like him they were guarded too heavily. Eventually they stopped struggling. Stephen's eyes then locked with Rachel's.

"I didn't do it," he called. Somehow it was important to him that she at least believed him.

Rachel was about to tell him that she knew when Colonel Sheppard showed up.

"What's going on?" John called. He had just reached the old city, which looked like it was ancient, when Becker radioed him that there was a problem with Stephen. Apparently his new team member had gotten himself into serious trouble.

The villagers quickly surrounded John and took his weapons.

Frowning he turned to the village leader. "What happened?" he wanted to know.

"Your friend attacked my daughter," a man answered him. The village leader looked shocked and angry at the man's words.

"If that is true he has to die."

"What?" John snapped. He really had a bad feeling about this.

"Attacking a woman is a serious crime. I'm sorry, but your friend brought this on himself."

"How do you even know it was him?" John asked.

"We all saw it."

Oh crap. This really wasn't good. John frowned and looked over to Stephen, who was tied up and surrounded by several armed men. This just had to be some kind of misunderstanding. He didn't know Stephen well so far, but the man was a hero. He practically sacrificed himself for his friend and others. He couldn't imagine he'd just attack anyone, especially a woman.

"Did you attack her?" John called.

"No. Someone else did. He ran off when …"

"Liar! Kill him!"

Shouting started and the angry villagers all demanded justice.

"This isn't justice. You can't just kill someone without at least a trial," John called.

"He's guilty. He dies – now!"

While the men were shouting and arguing Rachel managed to slip away. She knew Stephen was innocent. She didn't know him for long, but she was sure of it. She had to stop this and quickly. Unfortunately she didn't have any weapons. She could look for the woman who had been attacked. Someone said earlier that she was alive but unconscious. Once she woke up she'd be able to clear this up. But Rachel doubted these people would wait that long. They were out of their minds. There was only one thing she could do. It meant risking to expose herself to her new friends and Colonel Sheppard. But there was no other way.

Rachel didn't hesitate and rushed off to hide behind a barn. Then she started to concentrate. She hadn't morphed in a while. It was too risky and always reminded her of her home. But even though she hadn't morphed recently the changes still started immediately. There were crunching noises and Rachel felt her inner organs start to rearrange. Her body grew and her clothes ripped apart. Her skin turned grey and her nose got longer and longer until it was a trunk. In a matter of moments Rachel was a huge elephant. As soon as the change was complete Rachel felt better. The elephant didn't know fear the way a human did. It was confident and Rachel started to feel the same way. These people had no idea what they were in for!

Let's do it, Rachel told herself and rushed off.

----- -----

John couldn't believe it. These people weren't listening to him. They didn't even want to wait for the attacked woman to wake up and tell them all what really happened.

Two men dragged Stephen forward and made him kneel down. The guy with the ax stepped closer. The time for talking was definitely over. In a desperate try to get free John started elbowing and hitting people. Then he grabbed the gun from his boot, which these people luckily hadn't found, and shot in the air once.

"Stop this now!" he yelled and pointed the gun at the executioner. Then he suddenly heard a loud trumpeting noise.

"What the hell?" John muttered as an elephant rushed towards them and started to pick people off the ground and toss them around.

Rachel ignored the screaming people and the knives that were thrown at her. All that mattered was getting to Stephen. She pushed one more person away and then reached for the executioner. She pulled him up foot-first and shook him through before throwing him away. Then she headed for the people that stood guard.

'Run,' she then called to Stephen, Jason and Colonel Sheppard in thought-speech, aiming it directly at them, so noone else would be able to hear her.

Stephen's head snapped around when he heard Rachel. He couldn't see her anywhere, but she had told him to run, hadn't she?

"To the gate," John called. He had no idea what was going on. An elephant on another planet? How was that possible? He however decided that he didn't care right now. They had an opportunity to leave and he'd be damned if they didn't take it.

"Where's Rachel?" Jason called.

John looked around quickly, but couldn't see her anywhere.

"Go and dial the gate!"

"We can't leave without her," Stephen objected.

"Go now! I'll find her!"

Rachel heard them and sighed, or she would have sighed, if she was human.

'Go now. I'm right behind you,' she told them in private thought-speech.

All three of them looked around.

"Berenson, where the hell are you?" John asked and tapped his radio. She must have spoken to them over the radio, right? It somehow sounded like her voice was directly in his head, but that was nonsense, wasn't it?

'Meet me at the gate!' she told them. She had to get rid of the villagers that were coming at her with knives and axes. And then she needed to morph back, preferably without being seen.

"You heard her, let's go," John ordered. Or had they? Somehow this felt weird. But what was he supposed to do? Stay around and wait because of an odd feeling, and get Stephen killed after all?

----- -----

Rachel watched as the three of them rushed towards the gate. She trumpeted one more time to draw attention away from her team. Then she ran for the woods. She could have taken down several villagers, but they were human. They weren't from earth, but that didn't matter. They might be stupid, old-fashioned, misguided and willing to kill, but they weren't really evil. She couldn't just kill them. Cassie would never approve of that. She probably would never see her best friend again, but it somehow made it even more important to remember what she used to think. It felt a little as if she had to honor her. And besides, it wasn't like Rachel simply liked to kill. Sure, she didn't mind killing the enemy and knew that sacrifices had to be made for the greater good. But she wasn't as heartless as her friends often thought she was. She did care a lot. She did what she had to do, but if there was another way she wouldn't kill.

Apart from that there were a lot of villagers with knives, swords, axes and whatever else they could find to defend themselves with. Rachel was a tough elephant, but she was bleeding a lot already. She had to demorph to heal herself. She definitely wasn't going to die on some stupid alien planet in elephant morph!

Once inside the forest Rachel ran until she was sure that noone could see her, then began to demorph. After a few moments she was human again. Glancing around she tried to remember which way the gate was. Then she heard shouting. The villagers were coming closer. She couldn't risk that they found her. She had to morph again. She concentrated and the changes started. She shrank, her arms became feathers, her nose became hard and her feet turned into talons. Soon she was completely bird, a bald eagle.

Flapping her wings Rachel took off slowly and headed for the edge of the forest. Once she was out of the woods it was easier to catch an updraft. If she had been human Rachel would have grinned. She had forgotten just how much fun it was to fly.

'Woohooo. Yaheee,' she shouted to herself. Then her sharp eyes saw Stephen, Jason and Colonel Sheppard infront of the gate.

"Dial the gate," John called.

"But Rachel isn't here yet," Stephen objected.

"We can't leave without her," Jason agreed.

"Just dial the damn gate," John barked while holding the gun and shooting when one of the villagers came too close, trying to scare them off. "I want that wormhole established when Berenson gets here. We're leaving the second she shows up. Understood?" John told them. He wasn't going to leave her behind either. He didn't know her well so far, but she was part of his team and noone got left behind if he could help it. If they really had to leave her behind they'd be back with more people as quickly as possible – and definitely without Stephen!  
He then glanced around. Where the hell was Rachel?

It felt nice to know that they didn't want to leave without her. Rachel headed for the edge of the forest that was closest to the gate to demorph when she heard gunfire. Colonel Sheppard was trying to hold a small group of villagers back. Then he ran out of bullets and the villagers rushed towards her team members.

Crap! She had to do something.

'Go,' she told them in thought-speech. The gate was spinning already. They had to leave as soon as the wormhole was established. She then could either fly through the gate with them or wait in the woods until they got back with reinforcements.

Unfortunately Stephen didn't get to finish dialling earth. The villagers had reached them and they were starting to fight. It wasn't really a fair fight, as the locals were the only ones with weapons. One attacked the Colonel, one Jason and two Stephen. Rachel had to do something, so she went into a dive, heading straight for one of Stephens attackers.

Stephen was trying to avoid the knives of his attackers when a large bird suddenly swept in screeching and dove for one of the villagers heads. The man started screaming and tried to fight the bird off. Stephen had no idea why animals were going nuts on this planet and luckily helped them, but he didn't really have time to think about it.

John had just knocked his opponent down when he saw a large bird attack a villager. This was really strange. Were they actually getting help from animals? And why were animals from earth on this planet? Were both planets so similar? He quickly pushed the questions away and went to help Stephen.

Rachel was trying to hold the villager off long enough for one of her team members to knock him out. Usually she went for the eyes of her enemies when in bald eagle morph, but she didn't really want to blind the guy. He was just a kid, barely older than she was when she became an Animorph. She didn't really want to hurt him. He however didn't seem to think the same and swung his knife.

Rachel felt as the knife got her, slicing through her feathers, almost severing her right wing completely. She flapped with her left wing, trying to get away, but didn't manage. She fell to the ground a few inches before the guy. Pain rushed through her. Then the guy hit her with his foot.

So that was it, Rachel thought. She was dying in bald eagle morph, right here on this stupid planet. Then the guy infront of her suddenly fell to the ground and Jason stood over him. He probably didn't do it for her, but he still saved her life.

Rachel looked up at her friend and could feel that she was slipping away. She had sharp eagle eyes, but her vision was kind of blurry now. Her mind was foggy and she felt so tired. She knew she was dying.

"The poor eagle," Stephen said as he stepped next to Jason and looked down. It was hurt badly and all because it had helped him. Ore had it? Was it just a coincidence that the bird attacked his attacker?

Rachel heard Stephen's voice faintly as well as Colonel Sheppard shouting into his radio.

"Berenson, where the hell are you? We need to go. NOW!"

That's me, Rachel thought. She was right here. Why didn't he see her? Oh yes, she was in morph. She tried to get rid of the confusion and concentrate. There was something she had to do, something important. Right, morph. A part of her knew that it wouldn't be a good idea. She would give away her biggest secret. But another part of her was too far gone to care. And besides, what other choice did she have? She didn't want to die.

John cursed. There was no answer. Maybe it was best to go home now and come back with reinforcements? But he had heard Rachel just before the villagers attacked, hadn't he?  
He frowned and then turned to his two team members.

"We have to dial the gate and go," he said as he stepped closer to Stephen and Becker. No matter how much he hated it, but if Rachel wasn't there by the time the wormhole established they would have to go without her and come back later.

Then John's eyes fell on the bird on the ground. It was moving. No, it was growing.

"What the hell?" he muttered and pointed his gun at the thing.

Rachel was morphing, and the dizziness and confusion started to disappear. With her changing eyes she saw a gun pointed at her.

Stephen stared at the bird that was changing somehow. He really thought he had seen the weirdest stuff by now, but obviously he was wrong.

Jason took a step back, his eyes fixed on the transforming thing.

'Don't shoot,' Rachel called in thought-speech and really hoped the Colonel would listen to her. Seeing someone morph was completely and utterly disgusting, and horrifying. She couldn't blame anyone for shooting first and asking questions later.

John frowned. There it was again. The voice that sounded like Rachel. But she was nowhere in sight. And it kind of sounded like the voice was in his head.

"You hear that, too?" he asked.

"Yes," Becker answered glancing around briefly before fixing his eyes on the changing thing again. It really did look awful.

"Rachel?" Stephen called. The thing on the ground was weird, but he was more concerned about what happened to Rachel and why he was kind of hearing her voice in his head. Was he going crazy?

Just as Stephen was about to suggest that he'd go look for her the thing on the ground was starting to look more and more human. What the hell?

"OMG, Rachel," Stephen muttered as she finished the change.

"Hi guys," Rachel said awkwardly as soon as her mouth worked properly.

"You've got to be kidding me," John exclaimed. His life was getting crazier and crazier by the day. As if the constant travel to other planets and meeting aliens wasn't enough. No, he had to meet dinosaurs and future creatures as well, and now one of his team was able to change into animals???

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't tell you," Rachel said as she got up. Then she started to sway slightly and groaned. She had forgotten how exhausting multiple morphing was.

Stephen and Jason instinctively stepped forward to steady her.

"Are you alright?" Stephen asked concerned. It was totally crazy that she just turned from a bird into a woman, but what wasn't crazy in his life? Besides, he had more important things to worry about. The bird had been dying. What did that mean for Rachel?

Rachel looked up into Stephens eyes. She really hadn't expected that. She had expected them all to freak out. But they didn't. Stephen sounded concerned and held her so she wouldn't fall. Then she glanced at Jason, who was standing at her other side. He had reached out to steady her as well.

"I'm okay," she told them.

"Please tell me you're not an alien," John said looking at Rachel sceptically.

Rachel noticed that he was still holding the gun. Well, she couldn't blame him.

"No, I'm totally human. Well, with some added animal DNA."

John frowned.

"I'm still the same person that came here with you."

John had his doubts about that. What if some shape-shifting alien was impersonating her? She wasn't wearing the same clothes she had been wearing before either.

Rachel followed the Colonel's gaze down to her clothes. She was wearing rather tight black hot pants and a very tight black top. Well, it was better than the gymnastics suit she used to morph in. After years of morphing they had been able to morph some other clothes, too, but she had chosen this outfit as her morphing outfit now because it fit under her military clothes. You always had to be prepared after all. She didn't morph often, but when she had no other choice she preferred not to have to run around naked afterwards.

"I can't morph something else," she said defensively. "Now, can we go home and talk about this later?"

John was about to protest. He wasn't 100% certain that this was really Rachel Berenson and he didn't want to bring an alien back to earth. She however had turned into earth animals. How would an alien know what kind of animals they had on earth?

Then they heard screams and saw more villagers approach.

"Alright. Let's not stay here," John decided.

Stephen dialled the gate.

John waited until Berenson or whatever was impersonating her stepped through the gate before quickly warning Atlantis. It was better to be safe than sorry. Then he went through the gate as well.

* * *

**Day 9 – SG-4's mission:**

Fred grinned widely as she looked around curiously. She was on another planet! This was so amazing!

"I can't believe I'm actually on an alien planet," she said.

Lorne looked at her and smiled. Her happiness and excitement were adorable. He was really glad that Fred had been put on his team. This way he could spend even more time with her.

"So, which way?" Ronon asked glancing at Lorne and Fred. He had been anything but thrilled when he heard that the teams were split up. But it wasn't that bad after all. He knew Major Lorne already and they got along well. Better than that however was that Amelia was on his team. He had been worried about her going off world without him. But that wasn't the case now. He smiled and looked at his girlfriend who was walking over to Fred to check the energy reading detector with her.

"It's picking something up," Fred said.

"From that direction," Amelia added holding out her hand.

"Alright, then that's where we're going," Lorne decided and started to walk. Fred fell into step beside him.

"Thanks for helping me join a team," she said. She was sure she wouldn't have been allowed to join if he hadn't put in a good word for her. She really was grateful for that. Without something to do she'd probably go crazy missing her friends and trying to find a way back home. She was still working on that of course. Atlantis had excellent resources and a lot of brilliant scientists that she loved working with. She definitely could have ended up in worse places. If it was possible to find a way for her to go back home she was sure that they would find it.

"You're very welcome," Lorne answered.

"What a coincidence that I ended up on your team," Amelia said glancing at Ronon.

"Yes, it is. A nice one," Ronon answered with a grin.

"Oh come on, I bet you had something to do with it," she said teasingly. He had admitted that he was worried about her. This way he could try and keep her safe. Not that she minded. It showed how much he liked her.

"Me?" Ronon said and then smirked, trying to look innocent. He might have mentioned to Sheppard that he wished he could go off-world with Amelia. Maybe Sheppard told the General?

Amelia chuckled. "Well, it's definitely nice to be on the same team." She knew it would be only temporary, but it was better than nothing.

They then heard a scream.

Fred frowned. "Where did that come from?"

"That way," Ronon said and started to head in the direction.

"Alright, let's check it out," Lorne decided. He didn't really want to get his team into trouble on Fred and Amelia's first mission, but they couldn't just ignore a scream. Someone probably was in trouble.

Ronon was in the lead as the group rushed up a small hill. Then they saw who had been screaming. A man was lying on the ground, probably unconscious or even dead. Next to him were two of their new enemies. Ronon remembered them well. One had almost choked him to death on that other Daedalus.

"It's them," he stated.

"Who?" Fred wanted to know.

"The guys that attacked us on the Daedalus and the ones who blew up the gate on earth." He sounded angry and was already stepping closer.

"What are you going to do?" Amelia asked placing a hand on his arm.

"Kill 'em."

"Ronon, wait," Lorne said. "We should capture them alive."

"Why?" Ronon asked with a frown. They were killers. They had killed a lot of good people and they attacked Atlantis. They were the enemy! As far as he was concerned they started a war, and you didn't have to make prisoners in war.

"We know almost nothing about them," Lorne stated.

"He's right. It would be good to be able to ask them some questions," Amelia added.

"Interrogate them, you mean?"

"If that's what you want to call it…," Amelia said with a shrug.

"Fine. Let's get them," Ronon stated and set his gun to stun.

Lorne pulled out a Zat gun.

"They are pretty strong. We might need to shoot them more than once."

"Great," Lorne muttered sarcastically. A Zat gun killed with the second shot. They didn't want them dead. If one shot wasn't enough he'd have a problem.

Fred followed Lorne closely. She had pulled a Zat gun as well. When Lorne showed her the weapons this morning she had decided to take one of them rather than a gun or a p-90. With one of those she didn't have to kill, which sounded good to her. Besides that it kind of looked cooler than a normal gun.

They all hid behind a rather large bush. Once they stepped away their enemy would be able to see them.

Ronon glanced at Fred. "Can you fight?" he asked in a whisper.

Fred grimaced. "Not really," she answered silently.

"Okay, if they don't go down when we shoot them you stay as far away from them as possible. The three of us can try and take them down."

Lorne nodded. He didn't mind that Ronon was taking command on this one, since he knew the enemy already. Besides that he wanted Fred to stay safe as well.

Amelia nodded. It definitely felt good that Ronon included her in their fight plan and didn't tell her to stay away as well.

"Alright. If they take you down I'll shoot them," Fred stated with a grin. But she didn't feel that confident.

Lorne smirked at Fred. Then he glanced at their enemy. They seemed to be talking. He gave a few signs to the others. Then they rushed out from behind the bush shooting.

Ronon hit one of them with his stun blaster, but the guy didn't go down. Instead he quickly grabbed a gun and started shooting as well. Ronon dived and hit the ground while still firing. The guy however was rather fast and Ronon's shots missed.

Lorne was luckier. The Zat gun hit it's target. The alien started shaking violently and then collapsed. It looked like the Zat gun had even more of an effect on the guy than on humans. He definitely was glad that he took one along today after showing them to Fred.

Lorne then turned to the other one who was advancing on Ronon. It had lost it's weapon, but was advancing on his team member fast. Amelia was by Ronon's side, ready to fight.

Ronon shot the alien one more time, but it still didn't go down. He was about to run towards it and fight when Major Lorne shot it. Ronon watched as it shook and collapsed. Then he glanced at Lorne who was shrugging and holding his Zat gun up with a smirk.

Fred came out from behind the bush and joined them.

"That went well," she said. "But how do we get them back to earth?"

"Jumper," Ronon suggested. He definitely didn't want to carry them. Who knew when they woke up.

He then went over to the man on the ground and checked for a pulse. There was none. He shook his head and got up again.

"Alright. Fred and I go back to the gate and get a jumper. You two wait here and take this," Lorne stated and threw the Zat gun to Ronon. Fred still had one in case there were more of them on the planet.

Ronon nodded and sat down, holding the Zat gun towards the enemy.


	16. Chapter 16

**Day 9 –**** Atlantis:**

General Jack O'Neill watched as SG-2 got ready. They hadn't heard back from SG-1 as scheduled and no one answered when they dialled the planet and tried to contact SG-1. Sam had volunteered SG-2 to go check on them. Their mission had been rather short anyway. Jack, however, didn't really want to send them alone. SG-1 had a tendency to get themselves into big trouble. He knew that better than anyone. If they didn't respond they probably were in big trouble. Two teams would be better than just one.

"Carter, I'm going to send another team with you," he said.

Sam nodded. She didn't need to ask why. He was concerned that SG-1 got themselves into a mess again. It wasn't like SG-1 didn't usually manage to get themselves out of it as well, but they didn't have to take that risk, did they? One day their luck would run out and they'd lose one or all of them. Sam dreaded that day. She remembered well how it was to lose Daniel when he ascended and they all thought he was dead.

"So, who's coming along?"

"I don't know," Jack answered and started to look around. "Let's see who's ready to leave." All other missions could be postponed. SG-5 was just coming in to the gate room, ready to go. Jack sighed. Of course it was SG-5.

"Mac, come here for a sec," he said and waved her over. He'd rather not have her on a dangerous mission already. But any mission could be dangerous and this way she'd have SG-1 & 2 with her as well. Maybe that wasn't so bad after all.

"What is it?" Mac asked as she joined Jack and Colonel Carter.

"We haven't heard from SG-1. SG-2 is going to look for them. I'd like your team to join them. Your mission can wait."

Mac nodded. She wasn't sure if Jack just wanted her to join another team's mission because he wanted to keep her safe or if this was just a coincidence. But no matter what she wouldn't say anything right now.

"We're ready," she said with a short nod.

Sam smiled as she saw Teal'c coming towards them. He was on SG-5 now. It would be nice to go off-world with him again.

* * *

**Day 9 – SG-2 ****(Sam Carter, Teyla Emmagan, Jonas Quinn & Lieutenant Anders) & SG-5 (Sarah MacKenzie, Rodney McKay, Laura Cadman & Teal'c):**

As soon as Sam arrived on the planet she tried to contact SG-1, but still didn't get an answer. Then she turned around and saw Mac coming through the gate.

"It's really something, isn't it?" Sam asked looking at Mac. It was the first time the woman had stepped through the gate.

Mac turned to face the Colonel. "You could say that. It's definitely unlike anything I've ever done and nothing I thought I'd ever do." She grinned and then looked around. She was on an alien planet!

"What kind of genius put the gate this close to a cliff?" Rodney MacKay muttered while looking down to the ocean. He gulped and quickly stepped away. Then he went over to Teyla. At least she was with him on this rescue mission. He really hadn't been thrilled when he found out that he had been placed on a team with Cadman, Teal'c and a team leader who hadn't been on another planet before. The General probably put him on this team because he really didn't like him at all. On the other hand Teal'c did remind him of Ronon a little and they were equally good fighters. At least he would be useful if they had to fight their way out of some kind of mess. He wasn't so sure about the usefulness of the rest of his temporary team.

"I'm glad you're here, too," he said silently, looking at Teyla.

Teyla looked at her former team member and placed a hand on his arm. She knew how he felt. She hadn't been happy when she heard that her team would be split up. But it was only temporary and she knew it was best for all the new people.

"I am sure your team would have been fine on its own, too," she said in a reassuring voice.

Rodney frowned. "I'm not the one on Colonel Carter's team."

Teyla chuckled slightly and looked over to the Colonel.

"I'm picking up energy readings from this direction. That's where SG-1 would have gone," Sam called.

"Great. There's nothing but trees and hills that way. Maybe we should get a jumper. No, we definitely should get a jumper," Rodney stated, not sounding happy at all.

"And where will you land in those woods?" Cadman asked.

Rodney glanced at her, feeling a little uncertain. He wasn't the best pilot and as far as he knew he was the only one with the ancient gene on this mission.

"That's settled then. Let's move out," Sam announced.

Rodney shot Cadman an annoyed look, then followed Teyla.

Mac glanced at the grumpy scientist that was on her team.

"Yes, he's always like that. But he's really good at what he does," Sam told Mac as she fell into step beside the other woman. She had the feeling that that was exactly why Jack put Rodney on Mac's team. He wanted to make sure she was as safe as possible. The way Jack cared about this woman made Sam really curious about her. She definitely wanted to get to know her better.

Cadman returned Rodney's glare. Then she followed the others. Lt Anders fell into step beside her. Jonas and Teal'c were the last ones to follow.

Almost two hours had passed when Sam saw a Goa'uld village in the distance. She gave a sign for silence and glared at Rodney, who was still complaining about his feet.

"It's Goa'uld," Teal'c said silently, while hiding behind a bush.

Mac knelt down behind another bush and peered through her binoculars. She could see the village and several people. They had signs on their forehead, like Teal'c. Putting her binoculars away Mac tried to remember everything she had learned about Jaffa and Goa'uld in the last couple of days. Then she glanced at Colonel Carter, waiting for orders.

* * *

**Day 9 – SG-1**** (Cam Mitchell, Daniel Jackson, Vala MalDoran, Sheila Trebal):**

"I'm sorry," Cam said silently as he looked at Sheila. It was her first mission with them and he already managed to get her into trouble.

Sheila shifted slightly and looked through the bars of her cell to Cam who was in the cell next to her.

"We should have gone back for reinforcements, like you said."

"But they'll send someone anyway, won't they?" Sheila asked. It was what her people would do.

"Of course they will," Daniel said from his cell.

"But in the meantime I'm going to work on getting us out of here," Vala added while kneeling in front of her cell door. Then she pulled a clip out of her hair and tried to open the door.

A few seconds later three Jaffa arrived, weapons in hand, and opened Vala's cell door.

"I wasn't doing anything," Vala objected raising her hands. But the Jaffa didn't seem to care about what she said. Instead they gestured for her to come with them.

"Where are you taking her?" Daniel wanted to know. But he didn't get an answer.

Vala could hear her team members calling after them as the Jaffa led her out of the cell area. Then she glanced at the Jaffa. They were tall and there were three of them, but maybe she could take them down anyway? Would she get a better chance later?

"Move faster," one of the Jaffa told her waving his zat gun.

Maybe she should rethink the whole taking them down plan. If she was shot with a zat gun again so soon she probably would be dead.

----- -----

As Vala was lead into a large room some time later she was frowning. She had gotten new clothes and some women had 'taken care' of her hair and make up. As if she needed any help with that. If she wanted to dress up she knew how to do it. But in her current situation she was in no mood for anything like that.

"Nice," a voice suddenly said and Vala turned around, putting her hands on her hips. She was about to make a snippy remark when her eyes fell on the guy coming towards her. Her eyes widened and she stared at him in shock as memories from her past came rushing at her.

"You're even prettier than I remembered."

"Solan," Vala whispered silently.

"You'll make a great bride. And no, it's not Solan," the man said, his voice changing. Then his eyes flashed as he started to laugh.

* * *

**Day 9 – SG-2 ****(Sam Carter, Teyla Emmagan, Jonas Quinn & Lieutenant Anders) & SG-5 (Sarah MacKenzie, Rodney McKay, Laura Cadman & Teal'c):**

"Rodney, open that door," Sam said while standing guard. Of course she could have opened the door herself, but she preferred to keep an eye out in case they were spotted by Jaffa.

Once the door to the main building was open Sam signalled the others who were hiding behind a smaller building nearby. Then they all went into the main building and headed towards the stairs that would lead them to the prison area, if the Jaffa they had captured told the truth.

Taking down two guards they then entered the cell area.

"Sam," Daniel called, as he saw her.

"What took you so long?" Cam asked with a smirk.

"Not all of us are fast walkers, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c simply stated before opening his door with the keys he took from one of the guards.

Rodney glared at the Jaffa and crossed his arms infront of his chest. "Told you we should have taken a jumper."

As soon as Daniel was out of his cell he went over to Sam. "They took Vala."

"Where?"

"That way," Sheila said pointing down another corridor.

Sam sighed. She had really hoped to get in and out as silently as possible. But now it looked like they would have to search the building.

"Alright, let's go," She decided and handed a gun to Cam.

----- -----

It didn't take long until they ran into a group of Jaffa. They managed to overwhelm them, but the noise alarmed others.

As they shot their way free Mac got the feeling that Jack might not have sent her team on this mission because he wanted her to be safe with other teams. It looked like it really had been a good idea to send more than one rescue team.

"You get into this kind of trouble a lot?" she asked.

Daniel turned and glanced at her. Then he shrugged. "Pretty much all the time."

Cam glared at Daniel. "He's exaggerating."

"Am I?" Daniel asked as they hurried along a corridor.

Cam looked at him and then frowned. "Maybe not."

Mac had to chuckle at that. Then more shots were fired and she quickly ducked. She had wanted more excitement than a lawyer got. She definitely had that now.

* * *

Vala was trying to get the Goa'uld to understand that she would never ever be his bride when they suddenly heard shots.

"Told you, I'm not going to stay long enough to be anyone's bride."

The Goa'uld glared at her, then turned to his guards. "Find out what is going on and bring the intruders to justice!"

"You really shouldn't have pissed off the Tau'ri," Vala stated with a smug smirk.

The Goa'uld turned to face her.

"The Tau'ri?" he asked, fear showing in his eyes. "But you're not one of them."

"I'm still with them," Vala answered. She definitely enjoyed seeing how this Goa'uld reacted to the news that the people who destroyed the System Lords were in this building. Then the guy pulled a gun and pointed it at her.

"You're coming with me."

"I don't think so," another voice called as the big doors to the room swung open.

Daniel, Vala thought as she turned around and grinned at him. Then she saw his p-90 pointing at the Goa'uld.

"Nooo," she called and rushed towards him. "Don't kill him."

Daniel glanced at Vala surprised. Then the Goa'uld shot at him and Daniel had to duck.

The next second Teal'c entered the room and shot the Goa'uld with a zat gun.

"What the hell was that about?" Daniel asked with a frown. "The guy almost shot me."

"Sorry," Vala answered. "You're still alive though."

Daniel glared at her as he got up. "So?"

Vala sighed. He wasn't going to let it go. "I used to date him."

"You what?"

"The host I mean. We have to get that Goa'uld out of him!"

"All clear out there," Cam called as he entered the room. Then he looked at Vala. "Nice outfit."

Vala glared at him.

"We ready to go?" Sam called form the door.

* * *

**Day 9 – Atlantis**** gate room:**

Rose Tyler stood in the gate room, looking at the Stargate. She was kind of curious how it worked. The doctor could probably tell her all about it. But he still hadn't shown up. Martha said that he'd come, but Rose was still a little worried. What if he really didn't want her to travel with him anymore? He'd tell her though, wouldn't he? He wouldn't just stay away. A hello was the least she deserved, right? They had been through so much together after all. He'd come. The question was just when. Sure, the doctor was able to travel through time with the TARDIS and could theoretically travel to any point in time. But if he accidentally went to the wrong time he might not be able to go back as he'd change something in the timelines. That could end badly. She had seen it for herself, when she changed her own timeline by saving her fathers life. So, if the doctor accidentally went to the wrong time now she would just have to wait. It could be days, months or even years. She sighed. She was finally back and didn't want to wait another second, but there was nothing she could do.

Rose was pulled out of her thoughts when Mickey showed up next to her with a frown on his face.

"That just had to happen," he muttered.

Rose turned to him, pushing away her thoughts about the doctor. "What?"

"Sergeant Thompson is sick. He's the fourth member of our team. We might not get to go off world now," Mickey said, looking really unhappy.

"I'm sorry," Rose said. She could imagine that it was frustrating to be stuck. She kind of felt the same way herself. She wanted to go out there and explore the universe again as well.

"Is there no one else who could go with you if you have to be four?"

"Apparently not. Everyone is part of a team already or on some other kind of duty. But Jack is trying to figure something out with the General."

Rose smirked slightly. "Jack can be pretty persuasive."

Mickey laughed. "I sure hope he is this time."

----- -----

"This is my final word. Your team isn't going anywhere without a fourth team member," General O'Neill told Captain Harkness as they entered the gate room. He knew that teams didn't necessarily had to have four members. SG-1 had gone on missions with just Sam, Daniel and Teal'c for about a year. But the members of SG-6 were new to the Stargate program. Apparently they had all been on different planets already, but they weren't part of an SG team then and Jack still didn't really know them. He wouldn't let them go off-world with only three team members. He didn't feel confident enough in them.

Jack Harkness sighed. He was itching to go out there and explore another world again. He also wanted to do something useful, which he couldn't do in Atlantis right now. His eyes then fell on Mickey who glanced at him, not looking too happy either. He was standing next to Rose. A smile appeared on Jacks face when he looked at her. Then he turned back to the General.

"I know the perfect fourth member for my team", he stated with a grin.

The General raised an eyebrow at that. "You do?" he asked suspiciously. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to like this.

Jack Harkness still grinned and gestured at Rose.

O'Neill followed his gaze and frowned. He knew the woman even less than the rest of the team, as he hadn't actually talked to her himself. Sam had done that. As far as he knew she just wanted to stay until she found a friend or something.

"She's not part of the Stargate program."

"I wasn't either a few days ago."

"She's an untrained civilian."

"She worked for Torchwood in an alternate reality."

Jack O'Neill frowned at that. He so didn't like alternate realities.

"She probably has been on more planets than I have. And she saved the whole planet. I'm pretty sure she can handle herself."

Jack O'Neill sighed. He didn't know what to say to that. The guy had a point. The whole planet apparently could have been destroyed if that woman hadn't… well, done whatever it was that she did. He couldn't actually argue that she would be a liability to the team. She might actually be able to keep them safer than Sergeant Thompson ever could.

"Fine, if she agrees to join you, you have a go," he finally said. He didn't really feel happy about it, but he never felt happy about sending anyone off-world. He'd prefer to go along so he could try and keep his people safe. But he was stuck in Atlantis. And they needed to search as many planets as they could as soon as possible. They needed more ZPM's. They had only one left, which might not last long if they were attacked by their new enemy.

Apart from that Jack didn't really have time to talk about this any longer. He needed to meet Sheppard and talk to Captain Berenson.

Jack Harkness grinned and rushed over to Mickey and Rose, putting an arm around Rose's shoulder.

"You just became a temporary team member of SG-6," he declared and winked at her.

Rose stared at him unbelievingly. "Did I miss signing up for this somehow?" she asked, but then smirked. Going out there with Jack, Mickey and Martha did sound like a nice idea. But what if the doctor came to Atlantis while she was gone? And what if he didn't? Waiting here on her own so wouldn't be fun.

Jack knew he had her when she smirked. "Come on, you want to go out there. And it'll be fun exploring an alien planet together again, won't it?"

Rose grinned at the thought. "Alright, consider me part of your team, for now."

Mickey grinned widely. "Great!" Then he hugged Rose.

Martha came towards them. "What's going on?" she asked when she saw Jack, Mickey and Rose looking happy. She had just heard that her mission might be cancelled.

"We got a new team member," Mickey informed her happily and gestured at Rose.

"For now anyway," Jack added. He'd love to have Rose on his team permanently, but he knew she'd be gone as soon as the doctor arrived.

"Someone has to make sure you'll all get back safe after all," Rose stated and laughed.

* * *

**Day 9 –**** Atlantis – a conference room:**

Rachel sat behind a table in one of the smaller conference rooms, but somehow it felt more like an interrogation room they showed in criminal series on TV. She had been waiting here for a while now. Colonel Sheppard probably told the General what he found out about her.

Sighing Rachel wondered if it would be better for her to morph something very small and get the hell out of here. But she really didn't want to do that. For the first time since she got to this reality she had started to like her life again. She wasn't willing to give that up. Sure, this could end badly. These people could decide to lock her up or worse start to study or even dissect her. But there were aliens living in Atlantis. It wasn't like the Stargate program simply hated everyone that was different or saw them as test subjects. She did have a chance to make them trust and accept her, didn't she? Stephen and Jason definitely did seem like they still cared about her. And besides, she could still try to escape later.

The door then opened and General O'Neill, Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Carson Beckett entered. They all sat down at the table and looked at her. Rachel sat up straight and waited.

Jack looked at the pretty blonde marine. He had seen her before, but not actually up close. She really didn't look like a soldier, much less a captain. But that wasn't why they were here. The young woman might not be who she claimed to be or even a woman at all. According to her team members she had changed into animals! As if his life wasn't crazy enough already. Now one of the new recruits was able to change into animals or was impersonated by something that could shape-shift. He really didn't like that thought.

"So?" Jack finally asked. He wanted to hear her story first, then ask specific questions.

Rachel looked at the General a bit surprised. She wasn't sure what she had expected, maybe some accusations or questions. But he didn't add anything.

"First I want you to know that I am still the same person you hired a few days ago and that I am on your side," Rachel said. It was important to her that they believed that, but she also knew that she would have to tell them her whole story first.

"There are a few things about me that I haven't told you or anyone else for that matter." She never ever spoke to anyone about her life. Who would have believed her anyway? This actually was the first time that she felt like she wouldn't end up in a psychiatric clinic when telling her story. But where should she start?

"I am not from this world. I grew up in an alternate reality."

Jack groaned when he heard that. Next to him Sheppard seemed to do the same. Obviously neither of them was fond of alternate realities.

Rachel noticed that the General and Colonel didn't seem to like hearing that. But they didn't say anything, neither did Dr. Beckett.

"Where I come from earth was being invaded by a race called Yeerks. They are similar to the Goa'uld and silently tried to take over the planet and turn humanity into hosts."

Jack frowned. That sounded bad. Hopefully those Yeerks didn't exist in this reality. Defeating the Goa'uld had been hard enough. They definitely didn't need more snakes. They would have to learn as much as possible about this new threat. Well, that was if the story was true, which he wasn't convinced of yet.

"Another alien race called Andalites tried to help, but lost a space battle against the Yeerks in earths orbit. Their dying leader made it to earth. My friends and I saw him land. The Yeerks came after him, but before they caught and killed him he gave us the power to morph so we could defend our planet. From that day on we could acquire every animal we touch and then morph into them."

"So every human in your reality can change into animals?" Dr. Beckett asked.

Rachel turned to face him. "No, there were just five of us. A few days later we met another Andalite who helped us fight the Yeerks. That was it for a long time. Then we managed to get the technology that gave us the morphing ability and turned a few more humans into Animorphs."

"Animorphs?" the General asked.

"That's what we called ourselves."

"So, basically there were a handful of you first and later a few more who fought against an entire alien race?" Colonel Sheppard asked.

Rachel nodded. "Basically, yes." She sighed, remembering how hopeless it had seemed most of the time and how hard it had been. But they did it. They won. Or at least that was what Rachel liked to believe. They were so close and Jake's plan must have worked. Her sacrifice couldn't have been for nothing.

"It wasn't easy. A lot of people died, including me. Or I would have died if I hadn't been sent here by the Ellimist. The Ellimist is a very powerful being, similar to an ascended being I guess. He tried to help us whenever he could, but it wasn't easy for him, as there were rules…"

Jack snorted. "Definitely sounds like an ascended ancient." What was it with all those powerful beings and their rules? What good was all that power if you couldn't use it for good?

Rachel glanced at the General. She had the feeling that he understood what she meant. It made her feel better. She really had the feeling that things were going rather well. Maybe they actually believed her.

"Anyway, he broke those rules, or bended them. He couldn't save me back home. But he could save me by sending me here. No one would find out that I was still alive if I went to an alternate reality."

Rachel then told them more about herself, her life in both realities, the battles of the Animorphs, the Yeerks and the Andalites. They all listened closely and asked questions. No one told her that she was crazy or a liar. Rachel knew that that didn't mean they believed her, but it was a good start. They listened and didn't judge her right away. When they were finished General O'Neill ordered Dr. Beckett to do some tests. Rachel wasn't thrilled about that, but knew that they had to try and find out if she really was human and her story could be confirmed. Besides that Dr. Beckett was a nice guy. He had done her examinations when she first applied for the Stargate program as well. And now he seemed to be really excited to find out if there was any evidence of her abilities in her DNA. Rachel knew he would find it. The Yeerks found it eventually and figured out who they were. Hopefully this would be enough evidence for General O'Neill and everyone else to trust her.

----- -----

After Berenson and Beckett had left Jack told Becker, Hart and Sam to join him and Sheppard. They had recorded the whole conversation while Becker and Hart watched it live from another room. Once SG-1, 2 and 5 were back Sam had joined them.

"So, what do you think?" Jack asked as they all sat together.

"It sounds completely nuts, but I believe her," John said. Maybe it was because her story was too weird to be made up, or because he had seen the look on her face when she talked about her past. He wasn't sure, but he felt like Captain Rachel Berenson had told them the truth.

"Me too," Becker and Hart said at the same time.

Jack glanced at them. Sheppard had told him that the two of them were pretty close to Berenson already, which was why he hadn't wanted them in the room when they talked to her. Some people might think they were biased. On the other hand they might just be close to her because she was trustworthy. And liking someone didn't make you stupid. Jack preferred to believe that their judgement was not solely based on personal liking.

"It sounded like she believed what she was saying; and besides, she did save us back on that planet," Becker added. Then he glanced at Stephen. The guy would probably be dead if it wasn't for Rachel.

"I wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't for her," Stephen said. He really had felt like his life was over. There was nothing they could have done against so many people. If that elephant – Rachel – hadn't shown up… He didn't even want to think about it.

Sheppard shrugged. "They are right."

"I haven't seen the whole conversation," Sam said. "But I don't think anyone would come up with a story like that if they were lying."

Jack nodded. Unless Berenson had a very vivid imagination she had to be telling the truth, and in that case he really felt sympathetic with her. Fighting off the Goa'uld was hard enough with a lot of soldiers. Berenson and her friends were all alone; and they were just kids. They hadn't volunteered for that life either. He really didn't want to make her life any harder.

"Alright, we wait for Beckett's results and keep an eye on her until then. If the results back her story up she'll return to active duty. She's a fighter, and we definitely need those."

"Her _special_ _talents_ might come in handy, too," Sheppard added.

Jack glanced at him and smirked. _Special talents _was one hell of a way to describe that morphing stuff.

"Let's keep this to ourselves for now," he then said. "I don't want to hear any opinions on this matter from the IOA or anyone else before I make up my own mind."


End file.
